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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rest — what's left
  4. row — a line
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. rest — a break
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. wound — an injury
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. clip — for paper
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. row — to paddle
  24. tear — from crying

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