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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. tear — from crying
  3. kid — child
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. season — in sport
  6. shower — to wash
  7. rash — hasty
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. race — the arms race
  10. charge — electricity
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. season — of the year
  13. shower — rain
  14. charge — in control
  15. race — humankind
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. race — a contest
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. charge — a price
  24. rash — a series

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