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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mate — a partner
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. rock — a stone
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. saw — the tool
  8. capital — a city
  9. march — music
  10. rock — music
  11. mate — to breed
  12. saw — the tool
  13. march — the month
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. clip — for paper
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. march — the month
  19. clip — a video
  20. mate — a friend
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. trunk — of a car

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