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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bound — certain
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bound — obliged
  7. deal — to handle
  8. land — a country
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bound — tied together
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wound — an injury
  18. land — to come down
  19. rash — a series
  20. land — ground
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. tear — to rip
  24. pitcher — a jug

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