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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. shower — to wash
  4. drill — a practice
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. pitch — completely
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. drill — the tool
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. drill — army training
  15. rash — hasty
  16. foot — a measure
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. plane — a tool
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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