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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. tear — from crying
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. lean — to bend
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. spell — a short time
  12. lean — thin
  13. rule — government
  14. chair — a leader
  15. rule — a law
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. clip — a video
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. spell — magic
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. sharp — clever
  24. tear — from crying

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