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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. track — to keep track
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. land — ground
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. tear — to rip
  7. shower — rain
  8. track — a path
  9. track — a song
  10. land — a country
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. shower — to wash
  13. rash — a series
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. land — to come down
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. rash — hasty
  19. saw — the tool
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. saw — the tool

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