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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bank — for money
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. clip — a video
  7. bank — of a river
  8. wake — a trail
  9. lie — to recline
  10. clip — for paper
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. season — of the year
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. shower — rain
  16. pitch — completely
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bank — for money
  21. season — in sport
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. leaves — to go away

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