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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 is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. rule — government
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. scale — in music
  9. saw — the tool
  10. rule — a law
  11. tear — from crying
  12. saw — the tool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. capital — money
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. scale — size or range
  18. capital — a city

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