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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. court — of law
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. clip — for paper
  8. rule — a law
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cap — a hat
  13. scale — size or range
  14. court — of a king
  15. scale — in music
  16. cap — a lid
  17. clip — a video
  18. court — for sport
  19. cap — of ice
  20. kick — in football
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. rule — government
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. safe — out of danger

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