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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 120 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 always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. drill — army training
  3. clip — a video
  4. drill — a practice
  5. squash — to crush
  6. drill — the tool
  7. scale — in music
  8. wake — a trail
  9. scale — size or range
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bound — obliged
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bound — certain
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. clip — for paper
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bound — tied together
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. clip — to cut
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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