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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  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. clip — to cut
  2. fall — the season
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bound — tied together
  5. tear — to rip
  6. clip — for paper
  7. current — happening now
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. rule — government
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. current — of water
  16. current — electric
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rule — a law
  19. kid — to tease
  20. clip — a video
  21. bound — obliged
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bound — certain
  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