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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bore — to tire
  5. tear — from crying
  6. court — for sport
  7. clip — a video
  8. court — of law
  9. lean — to bend
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tube — a container
  15. clip — to cut
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. court — of a king
  19. clip — for paper
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. snap — to click
  23. bore — to drill
  24. rest — a break

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