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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rock — music
  5. clip — a video
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. clip — for paper
  8. rock — a stone
  9. saw — the tool
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. club — a group
  16. club — for golf
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — a trail
  21. sharp — clever
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. club — for dancing
  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