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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 120 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wound — an injury
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. present — there
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bat — the animal
  7. present — a gift
  8. land — a country
  9. land — ground
  10. wound — an injury
  11. kick — in football
  12. tear — from crying
  13. present — the time now
  14. can — to be able to
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. land — to come down
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. can — a tin
  21. tear — to rip
  22. can — a tin
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. kick — with a leg

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