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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. clip — to cut
  3. tear — from crying
  4. fall — to drop
  5. key — for a lock
  6. fall — the season
  7. tear — to rip
  8. mug — to rob
  9. fall — to drop
  10. key — the most important part
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. last — final
  13. mug — a face
  14. last — finally
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — a phone
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mug — a cup
  20. clip — for paper
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. key — in music
  23. wax — to grow
  24. clip — a video

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