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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 116 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wound — an injury
  3. track — a song
  4. track — to keep track
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. ball — a great time
  7. clip — a video
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. cap — a hat
  10. ball — a dance
  11. cap — of ice
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. kick — in football
  17. tube — the underground
  18. clip — for paper
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. track — a path
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. cap — a lid
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — in a tire

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