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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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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 · tear · file · kid · perch · wound · lean · lash

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. lean — thin
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. file — a line of people
  5. drill — army training
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. drill — the tool
  8. lean — to bend
  9. drill — a practice
  10. file — a document
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. kid — child
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. perch — the fish
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. wound — an injury
  21. file — a tool
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. kid — to tease
  24. perch — for a bird

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