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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. present — the time now
  3. clip — to cut
  4. staff — employees
  5. game — a match
  6. clip — a video
  7. game — wild animals
  8. tear — to rip
  9. plane — a tool
  10. pop — music
  11. clip — for paper
  12. staff — a stick
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. tear — from crying
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fine — all right
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — there
  22. fine — high quality
  23. pop — soda
  24. staff — employees

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