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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 120 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 don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. game — wild animals
  4. craft — a skill
  5. tube — a container
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. swing — music
  10. tube — the underground
  11. shower — rain
  12. bound — obliged
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. clip — for paper
  17. snap — to click
  18. swing — in golf
  19. game — a match
  20. bound — certain
  21. swing — to play on
  22. clip — a video
  23. bound — tied together
  24. craft — boats

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