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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. rash — a series
  5. kick — in football
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. kid — child
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mine — for digging
  11. scale — size or range
  12. mate — a partner
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — hasty
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. scale — in music
  18. kid — to tease
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. mate — to breed
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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