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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. object — to protest
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. object — a thing
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. clip — a video
  8. file — a tool
  9. clip — for paper
  10. tear — to rip
  11. file — a line of people
  12. court — of a king
  13. last — to go on
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. clip — to cut
  16. object — an aim
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. court — for sport
  19. file — a document
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. last — final
  22. court — of law
  23. tear — from crying
  24. last — finally

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