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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 120 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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. season — of the year
  7. foot — a measure
  8. pop — soda
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. dip — to sink
  12. tear — from crying
  13. last — finally
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — to visit
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. tear — from crying
  18. clip — a video
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. clip — for paper
  21. tear — to rip
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. ruler — for measuring

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