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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. game — wild animals
  3. can — a tin
  4. mug — a cup
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. can — to be able to
  7. can — a tin
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. row — to paddle
  10. lie — to recline
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. mug — to rob
  13. row — a line
  14. game — a match
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. clip — a video
  19. season — of the year
  20. clip — for paper
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. clip — to cut
  23. season — in sport
  24. game — a kind of play

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