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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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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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pass — a permit
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. present — a gift
  5. stock — goods
  6. present — there
  7. drill — a practice
  8. cell — in biology
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. clip — a video
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stock — shares
  13. cell — a phone
  14. clip — for paper
  15. present — the time now
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. drill — the tool
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. tear — to rip
  24. drill — army training

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