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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. tube — a container
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. tear — from crying
  6. plane — a tool
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. kid — child
  10. bat — the animal
  11. squash — the sport
  12. wound — an injury
  13. squash — to crush
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. kid — to tease
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tear — to rip

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