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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. track — a path
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in biology
  7. track — to keep track
  8. rash — hasty
  9. tear — from crying
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wind — moving air
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. track — a song
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — a series
  22. tear — to rip
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. clip — for paper

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