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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. board — to get on
  5. court — for sport
  6. wax — to grow
  7. clip — a video
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stock — goods
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. stock — shares
  16. court — of law
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. tear — from crying
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. court — of a king
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. board — a committee

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