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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 116 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. ground — crushed
  3. tear — to rip
  4. mine — for digging
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. sharp — clever
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — a position
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. charge — electricity
  12. charge — in control
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. saw — the tool
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. tear — from crying
  19. charge — a price
  20. dip — to sink
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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