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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. clip — a video
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wake — a trail
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. mark — a grade
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. hand — help
  12. band — a ring
  13. clip — for paper
  14. band — a music group
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. mark — a trace
  17. pop — to visit
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. hand — in cards
  20. tear — to rip
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — soda

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