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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. firm — decided
  5. clip — to cut
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — hurry
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. track — to keep track
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. firm — steady
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. firm — a company
  19. pound — a weight
  20. track — a path
  21. track — a song
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. clip — a video
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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