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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 124 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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Word bank
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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bear — the animal
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. wind — moving air
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bass — the fish
  11. tear — to rip
  12. land — to come down
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bass — low music
  17. clip — a video
  18. land — ground
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. land — a country
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bass — the instrument

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