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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. firm — decided
  3. file — a line of people
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. firm — steady
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. clip — for paper
  9. squash — the sport
  10. spring — of water
  11. firm — a company
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. spring — the season
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. clip — a video
  16. file — a document
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. pound — a weight
  19. file — a tool
  20. squash — to crush
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cap — a lid
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cap — a hat

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