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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. wind — moving air
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. tear — to rip
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. clip — for paper
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — a law
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wind — moving air
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. tear — from crying
  24. clip — a video

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