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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 124 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bear — the animal
  4. key — for a lock
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. clip — to cut
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bat — the animal
  16. clip — for paper
  17. key — in music
  18. toast — bread
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — to push
  23. bear — the animal
  24. clip — a video

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