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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. clip — to cut
  3. can — a tin
  4. game — a match
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. game — wild animals
  7. file — a line of people
  8. clip — for paper
  9. kick — in football
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a tool
  12. can — to be able to
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bound — tied together
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. can — a tin
  18. bound — certain
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. clip — a video
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bound — obliged
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. leaves — of a tree

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