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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: kid · clip · stem · bay · perch · rule · tear · club

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  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 — to rip
  2. club — for dancing
  3. tear — from crying
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. perch — the fish
  8. rule — a law
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — to come from
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. rule — government
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. kid — child
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for golf
  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