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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. land — to come down
  5. tear — to rip
  6. land — a country
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. drill — a practice
  9. hand — help
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. drill — the tool
  17. tear — from crying
  18. hand — in cards
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. drill — army training
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bear — to put up with

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