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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: tear · march · clip · drill · race · straw · pass · can

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pass — a permit
  4. can — to be able to
  5. race — the arms race
  6. tear — from crying
  7. race — a contest
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. drill — a practice
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. clip — for paper
  12. drill — army training
  13. march — music
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. march — the month
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. race — humankind
  19. tear — from crying
  20. clip — a video
  21. march — the month
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. can — a tin
  24. drill — the tool

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