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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. sharp — clever
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. bass — low music
  9. clip — to cut
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. track — a path
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. key — in music
  15. bass — the fish
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. tear — to rip
  18. band — a ring
  19. key — the most important part
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. track — to keep track
  22. tear — from crying
  23. track — a song
  24. key — for a lock

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