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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. tear — from crying
  3. hand — help
  4. shower — to wash
  5. rush — hurry
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. press — newspapers
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. mate — to breed
  10. file — a document
  11. press — a publisher
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. mate — a friend
  14. hand — in cards
  15. file — a line of people
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. file — a tool
  19. press — to push
  20. mate — a partner
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. shower — rain
  24. clip — to cut

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