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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. key — the most important part
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. suit — clothes
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — in music
  7. suit — in cards
  8. pit — in a race
  9. suit — to fit
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. game — a match
  12. mug — a face
  13. pit — a hole
  14. clip — for paper
  15. season — in sport
  16. mug — to rob
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. mug — a cup
  20. game — wild animals
  21. season — of the year
  22. clip — a video
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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