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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mug — a face
  5. cell — a phone
  6. fall — to drop
  7. firm — decided
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. tear — to rip
  10. mug — a cup
  11. fall — the season
  12. cell — in biology
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mug — to rob
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. firm — a company
  22. firm — steady
  23. kick — in football
  24. cell — in a prison

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