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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 116 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. tear — from crying
  3. net — in sport
  4. tear — from crying
  5. last — final
  6. net — for catching
  7. drill — army training
  8. can — to be able to
  9. last — finally
  10. can — a tin
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bound — certain
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bound — obliged
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — the season
  17. drill — the tool
  18. net — after costs
  19. last — to go on
  20. spring — of water
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. bound — tied together
  23. can — a tin
  24. fine — all right

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