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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. fine — high quality
  3. tear — from crying
  4. deal — to handle
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. kick — in football
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. saw — the tool
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chair — a leader
  15. pound — a weight
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. clip — for paper
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. tear — to rip
  22. clip — a video
  23. fine — all right
  24. clip — to cut

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