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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. clip — for paper
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bass — low music
  5. clip — to cut
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bear — the animal
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. snap — to click
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. clip — a video
  18. pass — a permit
  19. bear — the animal
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — the fish
  24. pass — to spend time

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