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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 116 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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. spring — of water
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. spring — the season
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a path
  13. last — finally
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. mark — a trace
  16. last — final
  17. mark — a grade
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. last — to go on
  20. mate — a partner
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — child
  24. spring — a coil

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