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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. season — of the year
  4. clip — a video
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. clip — to cut
  9. net — for catching
  10. plane — a tool
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — hasty
  13. spring — a coil
  14. tear — from crying
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. tear — from crying
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. net — after costs
  21. clip — for paper
  22. net — in sport
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. rash — on the skin

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