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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. snap — to click
  5. rash — hasty
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. chair — a leader
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. track — to keep track
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. clip — for paper
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. track — a song
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hand — in cards
  20. track — a path
  21. rash — a series
  22. hand — help
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. cabinet — ministers

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