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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. charge — electricity
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. charge — a price
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. charge — in control
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. spell — magic
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. cold — an illness
  16. fork — in a road
  17. content — happy
  18. spell — a short time
  19. tear — from crying
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cold — not warm
  23. spell — letters
  24. content — the amount

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