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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tube — a container
  4. tear — from crying
  5. shower — to wash
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. tear — to rip
  9. kid — child
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tube — the underground
  15. shower — rain
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. wound — an injury
  18. kick — in football
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. toast — bread
  24. lash — to lash out

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