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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. spring — the season
  3. tear — to rip
  4. board — a committee
  5. clip — to cut
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. clip — a video
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. spring — of water
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. tear — from crying
  15. board — to get on
  16. cap — of ice
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. spring — a coil
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. cap — a hat
  22. tear — from crying
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. cap — a lid

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