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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. tear — to rip
  3. clip — a video
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. toast — bread
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. chest — of your body
  9. tear — from crying
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. track — a song
  13. track — a path
  14. clip — for paper
  15. spell — magic
  16. track — to keep track
  17. spell — a short time
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. pitch — completely
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. spell — letters
  24. coach — a trainer

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