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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 120 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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. wound — an injury
  7. scale — size or range
  8. shower — rain
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. content — happy
  11. content — the amount
  12. shower — to wash
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. stand — to bear
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. tear — to rip
  22. kick — in football
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. wound — an injury

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