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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 124 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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. spell — a short time
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. clip — for paper
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. spell — letters
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lie — to recline
  16. clip — a video
  17. spell — magic
  18. game — wild animals
  19. foot — a measure
  20. lean — to bend
  21. degree — temperature
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. foot — part of the body

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