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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. drill — army training
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rest — what's left
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. land — to come down
  9. rest — a break
  10. wound — an injury
  11. drill — a practice
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. drill — the tool
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bound — tied together
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bound — obliged
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. cell — a phone
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bound — certain

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