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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. clip — a video
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. game — wild animals
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. clip — for paper
  8. ground — crushed
  9. swing — in golf
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. swing — to play on
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — a match
  17. saw — the tool
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. swing — music
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — the earth
  23. wake — a trail
  24. saw — the tool

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