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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. present — the time now
  3. wind — moving air
  4. present — a gift
  5. tube — a container
  6. present — there
  7. plane — a tool
  8. clip — for paper
  9. tear — from crying
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. wind — moving air
  12. clip — to cut
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. row — to paddle
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. clip — a video
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. tear — from crying
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. tube — the underground
  24. row — a line

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