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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 is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fall — the season
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. key — in music
  6. fine — all right
  7. bore — to drill
  8. fall — to drop
  9. key — for a lock
  10. fine — high quality
  11. key — the most important part
  12. clip — a video
  13. game — wild animals
  14. tear — from crying
  15. clip — for paper
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. clip — to cut
  21. fall — to drop
  22. game — a match
  23. bore — to tire
  24. perch — for a bird

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