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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's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tear — from crying
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. rash — a series
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wound — an injury
  11. field — for sport
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. board — a committee
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. field — farmland
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. board — to get on
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. rash — hasty
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. tear — to rip
  24. field — a subject

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