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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. degree — an amount
  3. present — there
  4. swing — in golf
  5. tear — from crying
  6. file — a line of people
  7. clip — for paper
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pit — in a race
  10. swing — to play on
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. swing — music
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — what's left
  15. pit — a hole
  16. clip — a video
  17. rest — a break
  18. file — a tool
  19. degree — temperature
  20. present — the time now
  21. degree — from a university
  22. present — a gift
  23. clip — to cut
  24. file — a document

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