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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. swing — in golf
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — a hat
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. hand — in cards
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. rock — a stone
  9. foot — a measure
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cap — of ice
  12. rock — music
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. tear — from crying
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — music
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. clip — a video
  21. hand — help
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. foot — the bottom

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