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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rest — what's left
  3. game — wild animals
  4. can — a tin
  5. tear — to rip
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. tear — from crying
  9. can — to be able to
  10. rest — a break
  11. game — a match
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. clip — to cut
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to bend
  17. clip — a video
  18. rest — what's left
  19. can — a tin
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wind — moving air
  23. tear — from crying
  24. lean — to rest against

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