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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. race — humankind
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — a series
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — a practice
  9. season — of the year
  10. clip — to cut
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rest — what's left
  13. clip — for paper
  14. rest — a break
  15. race — a contest
  16. kid — to tease
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. race — the arms race
  19. clip — a video
  20. season — in sport
  21. rest — what's left
  22. kid — child
  23. tear — from crying
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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