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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 124 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. clip — to cut
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. squash — the sport
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. squash — to crush
  9. mark — a trace
  10. field — farmland
  11. pass — a permit
  12. mark — a grade
  13. field — for sport
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. foot — a measure
  20. field — a subject
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. clip — a video
  23. tear — to rip
  24. squash — the vegetable

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