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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 ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. rash — a series
  3. clip — for paper
  4. saw — the tool
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rash — hasty
  8. cold — an illness
  9. clip — a video
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. lie — to recline
  13. pop — soda
  14. saw — the tool
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. mine — for digging
  22. pop — music
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pop — to visit

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