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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. cue — a hint
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. cue — a signal
  7. deal — to handle
  8. last — final
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. chest — a box
  11. last — to go on
  12. chest — of your body
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. clip — a video
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. board — to get on
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cue — for pool
  20. clip — for paper
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. board — a committee
  24. last — finally

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