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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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. face — to point toward
  7. lean — thin
  8. face — to confront
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bat — the animal
  12. clip — for paper
  13. vault — a safe
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. clip — a video
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. tear — from crying
  24. lean — to bend

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