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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 116 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. clip — for paper
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. tear — to rip
  5. row — to paddle
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. rush — hurry
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pop — to visit
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bulb — for light
  13. clip — a video
  14. pop — soda
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. row — a line
  17. bulb — for light
  18. pop — music
  19. lean — thin
  20. clip — to cut
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. lean — to bend

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