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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. ground — a position
  3. tear — from crying
  4. ground — crushed
  5. tear — to rip
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. spell — magic
  8. lean — to bend
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. band — a music group
  12. rule — a law
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. tear — from crying
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rule — government
  20. band — a ring
  21. lean — thin
  22. ground — the earth
  23. spell — letters
  24. straw — a straw man

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