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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rest — what's left
  3. tear — from crying
  4. kid — child
  5. rest — a break
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. face — to point toward
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. face — part of the head
  12. pound — a weight
  13. tear — to rip
  14. face — to confront
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. file — a line of people
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. rest — what's left

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