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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 is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. charge — in control
  3. clip — to cut
  4. squash — to crush
  5. root — of a plant
  6. squash — the sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. clip — a video
  10. root — the cause
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fall — the season
  13. spell — a short time
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. spell — magic
  18. root — of a word
  19. charge — electricity
  20. spell — letters
  21. clip — for paper
  22. fall — to drop
  23. charge — a price
  24. fall — to drop

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