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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. sharp — clever
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cue — a signal
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. rest — what's left
  11. tear — to rip
  12. mine — for digging
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. cue — a hint
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — a break
  20. cue — for pool
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. field — farmland
  23. tear — from crying
  24. hide — to keep secret

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