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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. fine — all right
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fall — the season
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. fine — high quality
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. mark — a grade
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. file — a line of people
  19. mark — a trace
  20. file — a tool
  21. tear — to rip
  22. sharp — clever
  23. file — a document
  24. tear — from crying

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