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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 116 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. spring — a coil
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. root — of a plant
  5. last — final
  6. bank — for money
  7. lie — to recline
  8. last — finally
  9. spring — the season
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bank — for money
  13. tear — from crying
  14. last — to go on
  15. root — the cause
  16. content — happy
  17. spring — of water
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. bank — of a river
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. root — of a word
  24. content — the amount

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