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

Word bank: wind · tear · snap · pound · firm · jam · rule · clip

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. clip — for paper
  3. firm — decided
  4. tear — to rip
  5. rule — a law
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to click
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. wind — moving air
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. pound — a weight
  14. firm — steady
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. wind — moving air
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rule — government
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. firm — a company
  23. tear — from crying
  24. clip — a video

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