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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. key — for a lock
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. fine — high quality
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — a price
  12. tear — from crying
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. fine — all right
  15. key — in music
  16. key — the most important part
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — the earth
  19. charge — in control
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to sink
  24. fine — a penalty

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