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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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. march — the month
  4. chest — of your body
  5. march — music
  6. spell — magic
  7. prune — to trim
  8. spell — letters
  9. vault — a safe
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. clip — a video
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. chest — a box
  16. march — the month
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. chest — of your body
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. spell — a short time
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. clip — for paper

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