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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 116 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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cap — a hat
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. season — in sport
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. march — the month
  9. bat — the animal
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cap — of ice
  12. dip — to sink
  13. march — the month
  14. clip — a video
  15. tube — a container
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. saw — the tool
  18. tube — the underground
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. cap — a lid
  21. season — of the year
  22. march — music
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. tube — in a tire

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