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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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Word bank
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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: stock · mate · tear · wound · land · sharp · drill · nail

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. mate — to breed
  5. land — a country
  6. wound — an injury
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — army training
  9. wound — an injury
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. drill — a practice
  17. stock — shares
  18. sharp — clever
  19. stock — goods
  20. land — ground
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. mate — a partner
  23. land — to come down
  24. stock — a soup base

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