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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: drill · hand · nail · tear · bulb · wake · patient · scale

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — help
  3. wake — a trail
  4. tear — to rip
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. drill — a practice
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bulb — for light
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. bulb — for light
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. hand — in cards
  18. tear — from crying
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. tear — from crying

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