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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rest — what's left
  3. clip — for paper
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. mine — for digging
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the sport
  8. cell — a phone
  9. land — to come down
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rest — a break
  12. clip — a video
  13. land — a country
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mug — a cup
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. land — ground
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. kick — in football
  23. mug — a face
  24. cell — in biology

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