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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. craft — boats
  3. cell — in biology
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. craft — a skill
  9. clip — to cut
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cold — an illness
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — a short time
  14. kick — in football
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. clip — a video
  18. spell — magic
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cell — a phone
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. racket — a loud noise

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