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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. field — a subject
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mate — a partner
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. ground — the earth
  10. tear — from crying
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. ground — crushed
  17. field — farmland
  18. saw — the tool
  19. hand — help
  20. ground — a position
  21. tear — from crying
  22. field — for sport
  23. tear — to rip
  24. hide — to keep secret

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