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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. lie — to recline
  3. land — a country
  4. pop — to visit
  5. object — a thing
  6. object — an aim
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. object — to protest
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. lean — to bend
  13. kid — child
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. clip — for paper
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. pop — soda
  19. pop — music
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. lean — thin

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