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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. clip — a video
  3. land — ground
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. rash — a series
  6. bark — to shout
  7. tear — to rip
  8. rash — hasty
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pit — a hole
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. land — to come down
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pit — in a race
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — hurry
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. land — a country

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