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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. field — for sport
  6. tear — from crying
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. field — a subject
  9. snap — to click
  10. field — farmland
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — to point toward
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — music
  17. face — part of the head
  18. tube — a container
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. tube — the underground
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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