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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bore — to tire
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. tear — to rip
  8. clip — to cut
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. kick — in football
  11. rash — a series
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. clip — for paper
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. bore — to drill
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. clip — a video
  20. tube — the underground
  21. content — happy
  22. content — the amount
  23. rash — hasty
  24. calf — a young 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