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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. face — to point toward
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. track — a path
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. face — to confront
  9. track — a song
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. shower — rain
  12. tear — from crying
  13. face — part of the head
  14. tear — to rip
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rush — hurry
  21. kid — child
  22. track — to keep track
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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