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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. club — for dancing
  3. key — for a lock
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. clip — for paper
  6. kick — in football
  7. sharp — clever
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. key — in music
  10. tear — from crying
  11. club — for golf
  12. clip — a video
  13. tear — to rip
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. suit — to fit
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. rash — a series
  20. key — the most important part
  21. club — a group
  22. clip — to cut
  23. tear — from crying
  24. suit — in cards

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