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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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468
Word bank
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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. bay — a horse colour
  2. tear — to rip
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wind — moving air
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wind — moving air
  14. tear — from crying
  15. clip — for paper
  16. mine — for digging
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. rash — a series
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. clip — to cut
  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