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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 124 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. current — happening now
  5. club — a group
  6. clip — to cut
  7. current — of water
  8. tear — to rip
  9. plane — a tool
  10. date — the fruit
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. clip — a video
  13. shower — rain
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — for dancing
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. clip — for paper
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. current — electric

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