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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 is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. staff — a stick
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. clip — for paper
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. clip — a video
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. staff — employees
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. spring — a coil
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pit — in a race
  16. tear — from crying
  17. hand — in cards
  18. spring — the season
  19. pit — a hole
  20. staff — employees
  21. foot — a measure
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. spring — of water

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