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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 124 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. spring — the season
  3. tear — to rip
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bound — tied together
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bound — obliged
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. ground — crushed
  15. tear — from crying
  16. ground — the earth
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bound — certain
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. ground — a position
  24. mine — for digging

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