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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. ground — the earth
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. net — after costs
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. land — to come down
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. wax — to grow
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. land — ground
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. board — a committee
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. land — a country
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. ground — a position
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. ground — crushed

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