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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. kid — child
  4. ground — a position
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. firm — a company
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. ground — crushed
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. firm — steady
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. fork — in a road
  15. clip — a video
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. clip — for paper
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — a tool
  20. ground — the earth
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. kid — to tease
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. firm — decided

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