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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 116 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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. clip — to cut
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pop — soda
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. net — after costs
  9. pop — music
  10. net — in sport
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. clip — for paper
  13. field — a subject
  14. mate — a friend
  15. net — for catching
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. pop — to visit
  18. clip — a video
  19. mate — to breed
  20. kid — to tease
  21. field — farmland
  22. lie — to recline
  23. field — for sport
  24. mate — a partner

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