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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — a weight
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. game — a match
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. tear — from crying
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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