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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. tear — to rip
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. file — a document
  6. sharp — clever
  7. rock — a stone
  8. rock — music
  9. file — a tool
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. file — a line of people
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. tear — from crying
  15. land — to come down
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. land — a country
  19. tear — from crying
  20. kick — in football
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. sharp — with an edge

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