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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · club · temple · drill · patient · face · row · hand

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — a group
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. tear — from crying
  7. face — part of the head
  8. drill — army training
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. drill — a practice
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. row — a line
  14. drill — the tool
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. club — for golf
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. hand — in cards
  19. face — to confront
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. face — to point toward
  23. row — to paddle
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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