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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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Word bank
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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: object · clip · roll · nail · lie · field · tear · pitcher

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. clip — for paper
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. clip — a video
  10. object — a thing
  11. field — a subject
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. roll — a list
  15. roll — a cake
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. tear — from crying
  19. object — an aim
  20. field — farmland
  21. clip — to cut
  22. tear — from crying
  23. field — for sport
  24. object — to protest

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