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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 120 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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. tear — to rip
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. tear — from crying
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — for golf
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. clip — a video
  11. club — a group
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. rush — hurry
  17. clip — to cut
  18. tear — from crying
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sports field

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