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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pit — a hole
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. pit — in a race
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. drill — army training
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. tear — from crying
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. drill — a practice
  20. kid — child
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. tear — to rip
  23. perch — the fish
  24. drill — the tool

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