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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — in football
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — a short time
  7. clip — for paper
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. present — a gift
  10. game — wild animals
  11. object — to protest
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. present — the time now
  15. object — an aim
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. object — a thing
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. game — a match
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. present — there
  24. clip — a video

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