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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 120 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. tube — the underground
  3. clip — a video
  4. mate — a friend
  5. clip — for paper
  6. last — final
  7. tube — a container
  8. root — the cause
  9. kid — child
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bear — the animal
  14. mate — to breed
  15. root — of a plant
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. mate — a partner
  18. last — to go on
  19. lie — to recline
  20. last — finally
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — to tease
  24. root — of a word

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