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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. cell — a phone
  4. mine — for digging
  5. fall — to drop
  6. track — a path
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. track — a song
  9. lie — to recline
  10. fall — the season
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cell — in biology
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bear — the animal
  17. clip — a video
  18. fall — to drop
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — hurry
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. mine — belonging to me

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