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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pit — in a race
  5. tear — to rip
  6. perch — the fish
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wind — moving air
  9. clip — a video
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pit — a hole
  21. wind — moving air
  22. clip — to cut
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. perch — for a bird

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