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

Word bank: nail · tear · rule · file · content · ground · kick · pound

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. tear — from crying
  5. ground — the earth
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. file — a document
  8. rule — a law
  9. kick — in football
  10. content — happy
  11. rule — government
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. file — a tool
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. tear — to rip
  18. file — a line of people
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. ground — a position
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. ground — crushed
  24. content — the amount

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