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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. craft — a skill
  3. clip — a video
  4. tear — from crying
  5. craft — boats
  6. dip — to sink
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. drill — army training
  13. clip — for paper
  14. present — there
  15. clip — to cut
  16. drill — a practice
  17. present — the time now
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. present — a gift
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. drill — the tool
  22. spring — a coil
  23. tear — to rip
  24. dip — a sauce

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