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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 116 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. track — a path
  3. lie — to recline
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bulb — for light
  8. track — to keep track
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cell — in biology
  11. clip — a video
  12. sharp — clever
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bulb — for light
  16. clip — for paper
  17. track — a song
  18. tear — from crying
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. cell — a phone
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. bulb — of a plant

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