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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. cell — in biology
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. tear — from crying
  5. content — happy
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. lean — to bend
  9. drill — the tool
  10. lean — thin
  11. cell — a phone
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. tear — from crying
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. drill — a practice
  17. clip — for paper
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. content — the amount
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. drill — army training
  24. cell — in a prison

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