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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cold — not warm
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bank — of a river
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. cold — an illness
  10. clip — to cut
  11. tear — to rip
  12. clip — a video
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bank — for money
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. root — of a plant
  17. bank — for money
  18. root — of a word
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. root — the cause
  22. bulb — for light
  23. pitch — completely
  24. bulb — for light

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