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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 116 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wind — moving air
  3. board — a committee
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. pound — a weight
  6. rush — hurry
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. season — in sport
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. root — of a word
  12. root — the cause
  13. season — of the year
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. root — of a plant
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. board — to get on
  24. clip — a video

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