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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. club — for dancing
  6. band — a ring
  7. bore — to tire
  8. scale — in music
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. club — a group
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. tear — from crying
  15. band — a music group
  16. rash — a series
  17. scale — size or range
  18. fall — the season
  19. clip — a video
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bore — to drill
  22. fall — to drop
  23. clip — for paper
  24. club — for golf

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