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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. clip — to cut
  3. chest — of your body
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. clip — for paper
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. saw — the tool
  9. lie — to recline
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. mug — to rob
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. chest — a box
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. march — the month
  18. saw — the tool
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mug — a face
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. clip — a video

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