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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. field — farmland
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. mate — a partner
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. field — a subject
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. mate — a friend
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mate — to breed
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cue — a hint
  18. saw — the tool
  19. field — for sport
  20. clip — a video
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. cue — for pool
  23. cue — a signal
  24. hide — to keep secret

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