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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · clip · straw · march · bear · cap · deal · coach

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. march — the month
  3. tear — from crying
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. tear — to rip
  6. march — music
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cap — of ice
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. tear — from crying
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cap — a hat
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. clip — a video
  21. deal — to handle
  22. bear — the animal
  23. march — the month
  24. cap — a lid

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