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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. wound — an injury
  3. drill — army training
  4. bear — the animal
  5. tear — from crying
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. drill — a practice
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bear — the animal
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. drill — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. tear — from crying
  16. chip — to eat
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. chip — for betting
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. tear — to rip
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. wound — an injury
  24. chip — in a computer

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