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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. present — the time now
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. clip — a video
  12. pitch — completely
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. present — a gift
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. lie — to recline
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. present — there
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. degree — from a university
  24. clip — for paper

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