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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bass — the fish
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. spell — a short time
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. spell — magic
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. season — of the year
  13. spell — letters
  14. bass — low music
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. season — in sport
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a document
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. wake — a trail
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. file — a line of people
  23. clip — a video
  24. bass — the instrument

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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