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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — hasty
  9. tear — from crying
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. kick — in football
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. tear — to rip
  14. last — finally
  15. kid — to tease
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. shower — to wash
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. tear — from crying
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. kid — child

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