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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. kid — child
  4. stand — to bear
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. tear — to rip
  12. object — a thing
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. object — an aim
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. tear — from crying
  21. object — to protest
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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