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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. track — a path
  3. net — for catching
  4. mate — a partner
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. snap — to click
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. tear — from crying
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. track — to keep track
  23. track — a song
  24. mate — a friend

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