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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: firm · patient · dip · foot · drill · content · file · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. firm — steady
  4. drill — a practice
  5. content — the amount
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. firm — a company
  8. content — happy
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. foot — a measure
  15. file — a document
  16. drill — army training
  17. dip — to sink
  18. file — a tool
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. firm — decided
  21. file — a line of people
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. drill — the tool

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