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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ball — a great time
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. drill — army training
  7. suit — to fit
  8. rush — hurry
  9. clip — to cut
  10. drill — a practice
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. tear — to rip
  13. chest — of your body
  14. suit — clothes
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. clip — for paper
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. suit — in cards
  20. drill — the tool
  21. tear — from crying
  22. clip — a video
  23. chest — of your body
  24. ball — a dance

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