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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tube — a container
  3. mine — for digging
  4. foot — a measure
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. file — a tool
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. file — a line of people
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a plant
  17. kid — to tease
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. tube — the underground
  21. root — of a word
  22. file — a document
  23. kid — child
  24. tear — from crying

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