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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. spring — of water
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. clip — to cut
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. key — the most important part
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. spring — the season
  12. foot — a measure
  13. spring — a coil
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. toast — bread
  16. clip — a video
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. key — in music
  21. wound — an injury
  22. key — for a lock
  23. wound — an injury
  24. foot — part of the body

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