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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bear — the animal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. land — a country
  6. tear — from crying
  7. present — there
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. shower — rain
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. land — to come down
  12. drill — army training
  13. present — the time now
  14. shower — to wash
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. land — ground
  21. bear — the animal
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. present — a gift
  24. wound — an injury

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