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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. tear — to rip
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. foot — a measure
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. file — a document
  8. lie — to recline
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. tear — from crying
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. tear — from crying
  18. shower — to wash
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. file — a line of people
  21. shower — rain
  22. file — a tool
  23. clip — a video
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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