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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: date · tear · hide · wound · snap · tube · patient · sharp

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. wound — an injury
  4. tube — the underground
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. wound — an injury
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. tear — from crying
  16. date — the fruit
  17. sharp — clever
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tube — a container
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. sharp — exactly

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