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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. scale — in music
  3. fall — the season
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. clip — for paper
  6. kid — to tease
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. rest — what's left
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. clip — a video
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rest — a break
  14. bound — tied together
  15. craft — a skill
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bound — certain
  19. scale — size or range
  20. bound — obliged
  21. craft — boats
  22. fall — to drop
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. kid — child

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