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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pound — a weight
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — army training
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. tube — a container
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. tear — to rip
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — size or range
  17. stem — to come from
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. tube — the underground
  21. kick — in football
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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