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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — a friend
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. clip — a video
  13. mate — to breed
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. clip — for paper
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. clip — to cut
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wind — moving air

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