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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 116 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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wind — moving air
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. firm — steady
  8. squash — the sport
  9. clip — a video
  10. squash — to crush
  11. rush — hurry
  12. clip — for paper
  13. craft — a skill
  14. tear — to rip
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. craft — boats
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. wind — moving air
  22. firm — a company
  23. firm — decided
  24. rush — to hurry

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