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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. clip — to cut
  4. perch — the fish
  5. mate — a partner
  6. press — newspapers
  7. clip — for paper
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. ball — a great time
  11. tear — from crying
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. plane — a tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. clip — a video
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. ball — a dance
  19. press — to push
  20. mate — a friend
  21. press — a publisher
  22. hand — in cards
  23. mate — to breed
  24. ball — a round shape

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