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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. land — to come down
  3. rest — a break
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a song
  6. board — to get on
  7. track — a path
  8. clip — a video
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rock — music
  11. rest — what's left
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. board — a committee
  14. land — a country
  15. clip — for paper
  16. face — to point toward
  17. rock — a stone
  18. tear — to rip
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to confront
  21. clip — to cut
  22. rest — what's left
  23. land — ground
  24. rock — to move gently

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