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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. last — final
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. last — finally
  7. season — of the year
  8. clip — a video
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. season — in sport
  11. chip — for betting
  12. last — to go on
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. clip — for paper
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. chip — to eat
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. season — to add flavour

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