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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  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. cap — of ice
  3. shower — to wash
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. rest — a break
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. rest — what's left
  8. march — the month
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cap — a lid
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. shower — rain
  13. clip — a video
  14. mate — a friend
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. rest — what's left
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mate — a partner
  21. chair — a leader
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  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