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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lean — to bend
  4. clip — a video
  5. tear — from crying
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. clip — to cut
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — for catching
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. season — of the year
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. present — the time now
  15. net — in sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — in sport
  18. present — a gift
  19. clip — for paper
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. lean — thin
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. racket — for tennis

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