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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. last — finally
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. last — final
  4. drill — army training
  5. pop — to visit
  6. ground — the earth
  7. drill — the tool
  8. tear — from crying
  9. object — to protest
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tear — from crying
  12. ground — a position
  13. pop — music
  14. object — an aim
  15. object — a thing
  16. drill — a practice
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. last — to go on
  19. rush — hurry
  20. pop — soda
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. ground — crushed
  23. wound — an injury
  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