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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. drill — a practice
  3. wound — an injury
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — a tin
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. drill — the tool
  13. field — a subject
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wax — to grow
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — money
  18. tear — to rip
  19. can — to be able to
  20. field — farmland
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. field — for sport
  23. wound — an injury
  24. drill — army training

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