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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rest — a break
  3. kid — child
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — happy
  6. kid — to tease
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. drill — a practice
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. drill — army training
  17. clip — a video
  18. bear — the animal
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. drill — the tool
  24. game — a kind of play

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