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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. row — to paddle
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. file — a tool
  6. season — in sport
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. lie — to recline
  13. file — a line of people
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rush — hurry
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. file — a document
  18. hand — in cards
  19. row — a line
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. deal — to handle
  22. hand — help
  23. clip — a video
  24. season — of the year

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