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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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. last — finally
  4. clip — to cut
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — to wash
  7. last — to go on
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. board — to get on
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. last — final
  14. clip — a video
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. shower — rain
  17. board — a committee
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. bowl — a football final

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