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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. drill — army training
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rash — hasty
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bear — the animal
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. chair — a leader
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. drill — the tool
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. rush — hurry
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rash — a series
  19. bear — the animal
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. tear — to rip

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