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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hand — help
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. object — an aim
  5. clip — for paper
  6. tear — from crying
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. hand — in cards
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. clip — to cut
  13. object — to protest
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. snap — to click
  16. object — a thing
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. tear — to rip
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. clip — a video
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ball — a dance

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