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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. tear — from crying
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. face — to confront
  7. foot — a measure
  8. kid — child
  9. hand — help
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. row — to paddle
  13. face — part of the head
  14. kid — to tease
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. face — to point toward
  20. hand — in cards
  21. row — a line
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. tear — to rip
  24. hand — part of the body

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