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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. clip — a video
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. squash — to crush
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. clip — to cut
  7. last — final
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. toast — bread
  12. last — to go on
  13. tear — to rip
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. last — finally
  16. file — a line of people
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. tear — from crying
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. clip — for paper
  22. court — of law
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. squash — the sport

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