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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bulb — for light
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. race — humankind
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. tear — from crying
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. mug — a face
  13. lie — to recline
  14. race — a contest
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. mug — to rob
  23. mug — a cup
  24. bat — 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