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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. last — final
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. fine — high quality
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. fine — all right
  10. kick — in football
  11. tear — to rip
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. last — finally
  16. last — to go on
  17. tear — from crying
  18. shower — to wash
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. shower — rain

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