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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. current — of water
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. drill — army training
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mug — to rob
  7. drill — the tool
  8. current — happening now
  9. mug — a cup
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mug — a face
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. tear — from crying
  18. current — electric
  19. kick — in football
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. drill — a practice
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bowl — to roll

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