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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rash — a series
  3. sharp — clever
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. rash — hasty
  7. roll — a list
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. game — a match
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. roll — a cake
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. tear — from crying
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. game — wild animals
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. tear — to rip

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