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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. hand — help
  5. rash — a series
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. hand — in cards
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rash — hasty
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. shower — rain
  20. tear — from crying
  21. shower — to wash
  22. net — after costs
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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