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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 120 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. pound — a weight
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. deal — to handle
  7. drill — the tool
  8. squash — the sport
  9. club — for dancing
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bear — the animal
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. wound — an injury
  15. tear — to rip
  16. squash — to crush
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. club — for golf
  20. tear — from crying
  21. club — a group
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. drill — army training
  24. pound — to hit hard

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