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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. tear — from crying
  3. club — for golf
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. staff — employees
  6. club — for dancing
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. staff — employees
  9. clip — for paper
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. wound — an injury
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — the arms race
  18. clip — a video
  19. staff — a stick
  20. club — a group
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wound — an injury
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. race — a contest

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