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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. tear — from crying
  3. land — a country
  4. object — to protest
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. mug — a cup
  7. field — a subject
  8. object — a thing
  9. tear — to rip
  10. kid — to tease
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. land — ground
  13. mug — a face
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. field — for sport
  16. object — an aim
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. mug — to rob
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. kid — child
  22. land — to come down
  23. tear — from crying
  24. field — farmland

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