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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hand — in cards
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. mate — a partner
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hand — help
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. rest — a break
  11. swing — to play on
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. rest — what's left
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. swing — in golf
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mate — to breed
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. rest — what's left
  23. swing — music
  24. lie — an untruth

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