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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. tear — from crying
  5. spell — a short time
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. content — happy
  13. net — in sport
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. tear — to rip
  16. spell — letters
  17. bore — to tire
  18. content — the amount
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. spell — magic
  21. bore — to drill
  22. stand — to bear
  23. chest — a box
  24. kick — in football

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