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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — a series
  11. clip — a video
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. sharp — clever
  14. mate — a partner
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. saw — the tool
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. mate — to breed
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. clip — for paper

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