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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 120 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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lean — thin
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. clip — for paper
  7. current — of water
  8. clip — a video
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. staff — a stick
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — employees
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. current — happening now
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wind — moving air
  19. current — electric
  20. lean — to bend
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. tear — to rip
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. leaves — lets stay

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