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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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. stem — to come from
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. lean — thin
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pitch — completely
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. rush — hurry
  21. lean — to bend
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. stem — of a plant

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