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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.

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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. drill — army training
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cap — a lid
  6. clip — to cut
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cap — a hat
  10. drill — a practice
  11. prune — to trim
  12. charge — in control
  13. drill — the tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. charge — a price
  16. charge — electricity
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. tear — from crying
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. kid — to tease
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. kid — child

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