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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. clip — for paper
  3. saw — the tool
  4. scale — in music
  5. clip — to cut
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. bear — the animal
  10. tear — from crying
  11. drill — army training
  12. cell — a phone
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. charge — in control
  16. drill — a practice
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. charge — electricity
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. clip — a video
  21. cell — in biology
  22. charge — a price
  23. bear — the animal
  24. drill — the tool

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