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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. clip — a video
  3. tear — from crying
  4. race — humankind
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. shower — to wash
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitch — completely
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. race — the arms race
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. tear — to rip
  23. race — a contest
  24. mate — a friend

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