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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: tear · net · clip · wind · leaves · season · squash · lie

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wind — moving air
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. net — in sport
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. clip — for paper
  9. season — of the year
  10. squash — to crush
  11. tear — to rip
  12. squash — the sport
  13. season — in sport
  14. net — for catching
  15. clip — a video
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. tear — from crying
  21. clip — to cut
  22. net — after costs
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. wind — to turn a key

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