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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 is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  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. tear — to rip
  2. clip — for paper
  3. object — an aim
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. pass — a permit
  8. clip — a video
  9. object — a thing
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. tear — from crying
  12. chest — a box
  13. club — for dancing
  14. club — for golf
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. tear — from crying
  18. chest — of your body
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. club — a group
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. object — to protest
  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