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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. craft — boats
  3. can — a tin
  4. craft — a skill
  5. swing — to play on
  6. can — a tin
  7. swing — music
  8. tear — to rip
  9. club — for dancing
  10. last — to go on
  11. swing — in golf
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bore — to tire
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. last — final
  17. club — a group
  18. clip — for paper
  19. last — finally
  20. club — for golf
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bore — to drill
  23. clip — a video
  24. can — to be able to

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