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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. staff — employees
  7. tear — from crying
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. staff — employees
  10. rock — a stone
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. staff — a stick
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rock — music
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — soda
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pop — music

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