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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fall — the season
  6. scale — size or range
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. scale — in music
  11. pass — a permit
  12. clip — to cut
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. fall — to drop
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. tear — from crying
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. ball — a great time
  19. tear — from crying
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. clip — a video
  24. calf — of the leg

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