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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. object — an aim
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. clip — for paper
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. spell — letters
  10. object — to protest
  11. spell — a short time
  12. cell — in biology
  13. spell — magic
  14. object — a thing
  15. mine — for digging
  16. clip — a video
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cell — a phone
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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