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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  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. calf — a young animal
  2. toast — bread
  3. tear — to rip
  4. object — to protest
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — an aim
  10. tear — from crying
  11. row — to paddle
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. row — a line
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. shower — to wash
  19. kid — to tease
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. kid — child
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  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