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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 116 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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. clip — to cut
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. band — a ring
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. fall — to drop
  7. clip — for paper
  8. net — in sport
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. kick — in football
  11. net — after costs
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. net — for catching
  14. prune — to trim
  15. band — a music group
  16. clip — a video
  17. suit — in cards
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. suit — clothes
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. fall — the season
  22. lie — to recline
  23. prune — to trim
  24. fall — to drop

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