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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. clip — for paper
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. band — a music group
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. tear — to rip
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. ground — the earth
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. clip — to cut
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. tear — from crying
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. band — a ring
  24. clip — a video

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