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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 120 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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cap — a hat
  8. rush — hurry
  9. perch — the fish
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. squash — the sport
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. clip — to cut
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. band — a ring
  16. clip — a video
  17. cap — a lid
  18. squash — to crush
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. band — a music group
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. clip — for paper

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