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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. clip — to cut
  5. key — the most important part
  6. wound — an injury
  7. net — for catching
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rest — a break
  10. clip — for paper
  11. key — for a lock
  12. band — a ring
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. net — after costs
  15. key — in music
  16. net — in sport
  17. band — a music group
  18. rest — what's left
  19. clip — a video
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. rest — what's left
  24. band — a rubber band

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