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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 is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. craft — boats
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. can — a tin
  6. mine — for digging
  7. tear — from crying
  8. file — a line of people
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. bound — tied together
  12. drill — the tool
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. can — to be able to
  15. clip — for paper
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. can — a tin
  19. bound — certain
  20. file — a tool
  21. craft — a skill
  22. bound — obliged
  23. file — a document
  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