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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 116 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. present — a gift
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. ground — a position
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. drill — army training
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. cell — a phone
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. plane — a tool
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cell — in biology
  18. present — there
  19. ground — the earth
  20. present — the time now
  21. ground — crushed
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. tear — to rip

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