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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. tear — from crying
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. clip — a video
  8. tear — from crying
  9. file — a line of people
  10. scale — in music
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. rash — a series
  13. tear — to rip
  14. file — a tool
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. rash — hasty
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. file — a document
  21. clip — for paper
  22. scale — size or range
  23. clip — to cut
  24. racket — for tennis

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