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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. sharp — clever
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rush — hurry
  8. mark — a trace
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — to crush
  12. mark — a grade
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. lie — to recline
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. squash — the sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. clip — a video

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