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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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. ground — crushed
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. clip — a video
  8. tear — from crying
  9. snap — to click
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. branch — a division
  12. track — a song
  13. track — a path
  14. ground — the earth
  15. object — a thing
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. track — to keep track
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. sharp — clever
  20. object — to protest
  21. object — an aim
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. clip — for paper
  24. ground — a position

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