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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. hand — help
  6. clip — to cut
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. race — a contest
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. clip — a video
  14. race — the arms race
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. clip — for paper
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. season — of the year
  20. race — humankind
  21. season — in sport
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. hand — in cards

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