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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 124 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pass — a permit
  6. staff — employees
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tear — to rip
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. root — of a plant
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a word
  17. staff — a stick
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. staff — employees
  21. prune — to trim
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — for digging
  24. pass — to spend time

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