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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cap — of ice
  4. object — an aim
  5. tear — from crying
  6. game — wild animals
  7. chair — a leader
  8. clip — to cut
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. clip — a video
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. cap — a hat
  14. object — a thing
  15. game — a match
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. tear — from crying
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. tear — to rip
  21. object — to protest
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. cap — a lid
  24. jam — a tight spot

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