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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. rock — a stone
  4. bear — the animal
  5. tear — from crying
  6. clip — to cut
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. stand — to bear
  9. lie — to recline
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. rock — music
  14. kid — child
  15. clip — a video
  16. kick — in football
  17. kid — to tease
  18. tear — to rip
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. tear — from crying
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bear — the 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