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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 · rest · clip · sharp · track · lash · rock · object

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. sharp — clever
  4. object — a thing
  5. rest — what's left
  6. track — a path
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. clip — for paper
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rock — music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. tear — to rip
  14. track — a song
  15. rock — a stone
  16. object — an aim
  17. rest — what's left
  18. clip — a video
  19. rest — a break
  20. object — to protest
  21. track — to keep track
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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