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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. present — a gift
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — to play on
  7. tear — to rip
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. ground — crushed
  11. present — the time now
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. present — there
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. rash — a series
  16. ground — a position
  17. swing — music
  18. tear — from crying
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. ground — the earth
  23. tear — from crying
  24. hand — help

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