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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. clip — a video
  5. kid — to tease
  6. wind — moving air
  7. club — for dancing
  8. clip — to cut
  9. press — newspapers
  10. mate — a partner
  11. kid — child
  12. press — to push
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a friend
  18. club — a group
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. clip — for paper
  21. club — for golf
  22. press — a publisher
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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