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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bear — the animal
  5. drill — army training
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rash — a series
  10. dip — to sink
  11. tear — to rip
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. rash — hasty
  21. wound — an injury
  22. snap — to click
  23. drill — the tool
  24. dip — a sauce

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