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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. lean — thin
  6. root — of a word
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. root — the cause
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. kid — child
  14. band — a ring
  15. root — of a plant
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. clip — a video
  18. snap — to click
  19. lean — to bend
  20. game — a match
  21. game — wild animals
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. band — a music group
  24. kid — to tease

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