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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. file — a tool
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a great time
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. pound — a weight
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. ball — a dance
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. chest — a box
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. chest — of your body
  19. file — a document
  20. chest — of your body
  21. tear — to rip
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. cold — not warm
  24. file — a line of people

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