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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — the earth
  3. bound — certain
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. clip — for paper
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. clip — a video
  8. bound — obliged
  9. snap — to click
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bound — tied together
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. tear — from crying
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. ground — a position
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. clip — to cut
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bear — the animal

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