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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. game — wild animals
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. tear — from crying
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. tear — from crying
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. date — the fruit
  11. clip — a video
  12. hand — in cards
  13. object — an aim
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. object — a thing
  17. tear — to rip
  18. fine — high quality
  19. object — to protest
  20. game — a match
  21. fine — all right
  22. hand — help
  23. lie — to recline
  24. game — a kind of play

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