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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. clip — a video
  3. sharp — clever
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cue — for pool
  6. rock — a stone
  7. row — a line
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cue — a hint
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. ball — a great time
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — a contest
  16. ball — a dance
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rock — music
  21. tear — to rip
  22. race — humankind
  23. clip — for paper
  24. row — to paddle

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