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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bear — the animal
  4. hand — in cards
  5. spring — the season
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — to be able to
  8. bear — the animal
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — help
  12. board — to get on
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. board — a committee
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. mine — for digging
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. can — a tin
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. spring — of water
  24. mine — belonging to me

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