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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. clip — to cut
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rush — hurry
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. tear — from crying
  9. object — to protest
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. object — an aim
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. clip — a video
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. kid — to tease

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