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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. key — for a lock
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. tear — from crying
  6. game — a match
  7. clip — a video
  8. key — in music
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bear — the animal
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pound — a weight
  17. key — the most important part
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. tear — from crying
  20. game — wild animals
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. bear — the animal
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. fan — a supporter

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