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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pass — a permit
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — letters
  7. ball — a great time
  8. spell — a short time
  9. land — a country
  10. land — ground
  11. land — to come down
  12. toast — bread
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — in golf
  18. clip — a video
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. ball — a dance
  21. clip — for paper
  22. swing — to play on
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. calf — a young animal

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