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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mate — a partner
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mate — to breed
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. last — finally
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. drill — a practice
  12. toast — bread
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. bear — the animal
  16. drill — army training
  17. bear — the animal
  18. drill — the tool
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. last — final
  21. mate — a friend
  22. last — to go on
  23. clip — a video
  24. calf — a young animal

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