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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. kid — child
  4. fine — high quality
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. prune — to trim
  7. object — an aim
  8. rash — hasty
  9. kid — to tease
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — of the year
  12. rash — a series
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — to protest
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. fine — all right
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. prune — to trim
  24. clip — a video

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