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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. drill — the tool
  4. deal — to handle
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. craft — a skill
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. drill — a practice
  9. tear — from crying
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. chest — of your body
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. craft — boats
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. drill — army training
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chest — a box
  23. tear — to rip
  24. kick — in football

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