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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. band — a music group
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. tear — from crying
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. band — a ring
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. row — a line
  11. row — to paddle
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. ground — a position
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. kid — to tease
  16. ground — the earth
  17. clip — for paper
  18. ground — crushed
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. clip — a video
  21. kid — child
  22. tear — to rip
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. safe — out of danger

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