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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pitch — completely
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. lie — to recline
  9. shower — rain
  10. tear — to rip
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. charge — a price
  14. kid — child
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. charge — electricity
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. tear — from crying
  19. charge — in control
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. tear — from crying
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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