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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. key — in music
  4. hand — help
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. rest — what's left
  8. hand — in cards
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. rest — a break
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. clip — a video
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. key — the most important part
  22. clip — for paper
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. bowl — a football final

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