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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mine — for digging
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tear — to rip
  6. fall — the season
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — a series
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. fork — in a road
  14. tear — from crying
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fall — to drop
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. vault — a safe
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mine — belonging to me

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