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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 116 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. fall — to drop
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. fall — to drop
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. last — final
  7. kick — in football
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. last — to go on
  11. season — in sport
  12. kid — child
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. fall — the season
  17. rush — hurry
  18. saw — the tool
  19. season — of the year
  20. tear — from crying
  21. last — finally
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. kid — to tease
  24. saw — 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