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

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. drill — the tool
  3. tear — to rip
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. present — there
  7. pound — a weight
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — a practice
  10. fork — in a road
  11. present — the time now
  12. can — to be able to
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. tear — from crying
  17. can — a tin
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. can — a tin
  23. present — a gift
  24. wound — an injury

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