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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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. tear — to rip
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. hand — in cards
  5. file — a document
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. tear — from crying
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. hand — help
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. craft — boats
  12. tear — from crying
  13. file — a line of people
  14. clip — for paper
  15. content — happy
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. clip — a video
  18. file — a tool
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. content — the amount
  21. board — to get on
  22. board — a committee
  23. craft — a skill
  24. hand — part of the body

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