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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  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. hide — to keep secret
  2. tear — to rip
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. kid — child
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. tear — from crying
  9. clip — for paper
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — to grow
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. deal — to handle
  18. mark — a trace
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. mark — a grade
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. rush — hurry
  23. rush — a thrill
  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