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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tear — from crying
  4. degree — from a university
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fall — the season
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wound — an injury
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fall — to drop
  21. degree — temperature
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. tear — to rip
  24. calf — a young animal

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