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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. last — finally
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. object — to protest
  5. last — final
  6. court — for sport
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. court — of law
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. clip — a video
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. object — an aim
  14. staff — employees
  15. cold — not warm
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. clip — for paper
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. last — to go on
  23. court — of a king
  24. object — a thing

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