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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. clip — to cut
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. lean — to bend
  5. cap — a lid
  6. clip — a video
  7. file — a document
  8. land — ground
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. land — to come down
  11. lean — thin
  12. drill — a practice
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. drill — the tool
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. clip — for paper
  17. ball — a dance
  18. file — a line of people
  19. land — a country
  20. cap — a hat
  21. ball — a great time
  22. file — a tool
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. drill — army training

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