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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. pass — a permit
  3. clip — a video
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. lean — thin
  6. bore — to tire
  7. file — a document
  8. net — in sport
  9. clip — for paper
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. rule — government
  13. net — after costs
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bore — to drill
  16. tear — to rip
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. net — for catching
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. lean — to bend
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rule — a law
  23. tear — from crying
  24. clip — to cut

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