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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 116 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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ball — a great time
  4. track — a song
  5. clip — to cut
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. prune — to trim
  9. tear — to rip
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wound — an injury
  12. press — to push
  13. tear — from crying
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. press — a publisher
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — for paper
  20. press — newspapers
  21. track — a path
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ball — a dance

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