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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. tear — from crying
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. shower — to wash
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. tear — to rip
  10. dip — to sink
  11. spell — letters
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. lean — to bend
  15. spell — a short time
  16. tear — from crying
  17. kick — in football
  18. mine — for digging
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. lean — thin
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. shower — rain
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. hide — to keep secret

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