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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 124 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — army training
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. pitch — completely
  7. tear — from crying
  8. content — the amount
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. clip — a video
  12. bank — for money
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. bank — for money
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. wake — a trail
  19. bank — of a river
  20. clip — to cut
  21. content — happy
  22. drill — a practice
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. tear — to rip

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