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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. key — the most important part
  3. shower — to wash
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. net — for catching
  7. tear — from crying
  8. net — after costs
  9. mine — for digging
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. deal — to handle
  12. tear — from crying
  13. net — in sport
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. mark — a trace
  18. shower — rain
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. mark — a grade
  22. key — in music
  23. tear — to rip
  24. key — for a lock

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