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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 is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tube — the underground
  3. sharp — clever
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. tube — a container
  6. pop — soda
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. clip — to cut
  9. plane — a tool
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — to visit
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. ruler — a monarch

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