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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. race — humankind
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. board — to get on
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. board — a committee
  13. race — a contest
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wind — moving air
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. wind — moving air
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. race — the arms race
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. kick — in football
  24. clip — a video

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