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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 124 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. roll — a cake
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. drill — army training
  9. roll — a list
  10. saw — the tool
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. tear — from crying
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. cap — of ice
  18. clip — for paper
  19. cap — a hat
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. saw — the tool
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. hide — to keep secret

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