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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 120 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. craft — a skill
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bear — the animal
  6. file — a tool
  7. rule — government
  8. chest — a box
  9. root — of a word
  10. file — a document
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. tear — to rip
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. tear — from crying
  16. file — a line of people
  17. rule — a law
  18. root — of a plant
  19. craft — boats
  20. chest — of your body
  21. root — the cause
  22. bear — the animal
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. chest — of your body

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