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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. clip — a video
  3. wax — to grow
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bound — tied together
  7. drill — a practice
  8. pit — a hole
  9. stem — to come from
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bound — certain
  14. pit — in a race
  15. rush — hurry
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. clip — to cut
  20. tear — to rip
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. drill — army training
  24. bound — obliged

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