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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. clip — to cut
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. field — a subject
  7. rash — a series
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a cup
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. hand — help
  12. field — farmland
  13. clip — a video
  14. swing — in golf
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rash — hasty
  17. hand — in cards
  18. swing — to play on
  19. pit — a hole
  20. mug — a face
  21. clip — for paper
  22. swing — music
  23. field — for sport
  24. pit — in a race

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