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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fall — the season
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — for paper
  5. can — a tin
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cue — for pool
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wound — an injury
  12. clip — to cut
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. cue — a signal
  16. can — a tin
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. cue — a hint
  19. can — to be able to
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — to tire
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. fall — to drop
  24. tear — to rip

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