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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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. net — for catching
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. tear — to rip
  6. staff — employees
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. net — in sport
  11. clip — a video
  12. mine — for digging
  13. deal — to handle
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. staff — a stick
  16. net — after costs
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. tear — from crying
  19. staff — employees
  20. clip — to cut
  21. rest — a break
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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