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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. cap — a lid
  3. kid — child
  4. cap — of ice
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. tear — to rip
  7. kid — to tease
  8. club — a group
  9. clip — a video
  10. tear — from crying
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. snap — to click
  15. clip — for paper
  16. cap — a hat
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — to get on
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — for dancing
  21. tear — from crying
  22. board — a committee
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. mouse — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com