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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. field — a subject
  3. rest — what's left
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. field — farmland
  6. swing — to play on
  7. hand — help
  8. swing — in golf
  9. snap — to click
  10. drill — army training
  11. tear — from crying
  12. drill — a practice
  13. tear — to rip
  14. field — for sport
  15. swing — music
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rest — a break
  21. rest — what's left
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. tear — from crying

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