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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ball — a great time
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fine — all right
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. clip — for paper
  10. current — happening now
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. ball — a dance
  13. tear — to rip
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. hand — help
  16. clip — to cut
  17. current — electric
  18. fine — high quality
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. deal — to handle
  22. clip — a video
  23. current — of water
  24. rash — a series

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