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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. rash — hasty
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. tear — to rip
  5. clip — a video
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. clip — for paper
  10. tear — from crying
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — a series
  17. sharp — clever
  18. cell — a phone

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