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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bound — obliged
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bound — tied together
  7. land — ground
  8. tear — from crying
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. wind — moving air
  14. present — a gift
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — a country
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. bound — certain
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. nail — on a finger

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