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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 124 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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. foot — a measure
  4. tear — from crying
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. tear — to rip
  8. scale — size or range
  9. clip — a video
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pass — a permit
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. tear — from crying
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. bark — to shout
  19. scale — in music
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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