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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 was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. clip — a video
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. clip — for paper
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. tear — to rip
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bear — the animal
  23. tear — from crying
  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