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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. lie — to recline
  3. rest — what's left
  4. scale — size or range
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. clip — for paper
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wound — an injury
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bear — the animal
  17. pass — a permit
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. scale — in music
  22. clip — a video
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. rest — a break

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