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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. game — a match
  3. cell — in biology
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. clip — a video
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. wake — a trail
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. rash — a series
  13. mine — for digging
  14. march — the month
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. march — music
  21. game — wild animals
  22. rash — hasty
  23. cell — a phone
  24. march — the month

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