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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. tear — from crying
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. fine — high quality
  5. row — to paddle
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fine — all right
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — the earth
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fall — to drop
  13. ground — crushed
  14. fall — to drop
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — a line
  17. clip — to cut
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. tear — to rip
  20. fall — the season
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. clip — a video

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