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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. tube — a container
  4. staff — employees
  5. tear — to rip
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. tube — the underground
  9. staff — employees
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. tear — from crying
  13. clip — a video
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. staff — a stick
  16. season — in sport
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. season — of the year
  21. clip — to cut
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. tear — from crying

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