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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. tear — from crying
  5. staff — employees
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. rush — hurry
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. clip — a video
  12. staff — a stick
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. tear — from crying
  16. clip — for paper
  17. staff — employees
  18. band — a ring
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. deal — to handle
  22. bark — to shout
  23. clip — to cut
  24. band — a music group

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