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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. spell — magic
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. hand — help
  8. spell — a short time
  9. stem — to come from
  10. degree — from a university
  11. hand — in cards
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. spell — letters
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. degree — an amount
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. tear — to rip
  19. degree — temperature
  20. tear — from crying
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. nail — for a hammer

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