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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. bear — the animal
  5. board — a committee
  6. march — music
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bear — the animal
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. rule — a law
  12. board — to get on
  13. kick — in football
  14. march — the month
  15. bore — to tire
  16. march — the month
  17. bore — to drill
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — to come from
  23. rule — government
  24. clip — a video

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