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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tube — the underground
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. wound — an injury
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tube — a container
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. march — music
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. deal — to handle
  17. field — a subject
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. field — farmland
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. field — for sport
  24. safe — a strongbox

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