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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. game — wild animals
  3. present — a gift
  4. game — a match
  5. can — to be able to
  6. clip — for paper
  7. present — there
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. hand — in cards
  10. clip — a video
  11. rock — a stone
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. foot — a measure
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. can — a tin
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. can — a tin
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. rock — music
  21. vault — a safe
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. present — the time now

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