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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 120 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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. drill — army training
  3. last — to go on
  4. net — for catching
  5. mark — a trace
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — the tool
  10. mark — a grade
  11. net — after costs
  12. tear — from crying
  13. suit — clothes
  14. net — in sport
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mine — for digging
  17. suit — in cards
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. last — final
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. last — finally

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