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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. stock — goods
  3. tear — to rip
  4. club — a group
  5. tear — from crying
  6. clip — to cut
  7. tear — from crying
  8. club — for dancing
  9. rule — government
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. band — a music group
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bound — certain
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. club — for golf
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. bound — obliged
  19. band — a ring
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. rule — a law
  23. stock — shares
  24. clip — a video

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