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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. clip — a video
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. swing — to play on
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. clip — to cut
  8. swing — music
  9. ground — the earth
  10. tear — from crying
  11. shower — rain
  12. present — there
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. present — the time now
  15. clip — for paper
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. ground — a position
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. present — a gift
  22. ground — crushed
  23. tear — from crying
  24. swing — in 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