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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. tear — from crying
  5. clip — a video
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. spring — of water
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. spring — the season
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. rush — hurry
  14. spring — a coil
  15. toast — bread
  16. current — electric
  17. tear — to rip
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. current — of water
  21. band — a music group
  22. current — happening now
  23. band — a ring
  24. clip — to cut

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