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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. tear — to rip
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — of ice
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. swing — to play on
  7. mine — for digging
  8. clip — a video
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. cap — a hat
  11. current — electric
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. swing — in golf
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. clip — for paper
  16. current — of water
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. rush — hurry
  20. current — happening now
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. clip — to cut
  24. swing — music

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