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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — clever
  4. face — part of the head
  5. tear — from crying
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. hand — in cards
  8. face — to point toward
  9. cap — a hat
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. cap — a lid
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. tear — from crying
  18. face — to confront
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — farmland
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. cap — of ice
  24. tear — to rip

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