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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. clip — for paper
  3. kid — to tease
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. track — a path
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. clip — to cut
  10. vault — a safe
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. track — to keep track
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. clip — a video
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. tear — to rip
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. track — a song
  24. rush — hurry

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