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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. hand — in cards
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. mug — a cup
  7. content — the amount
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. wound — an injury
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. mug — a face
  12. hand — help
  13. content — happy
  14. drill — army training
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. drill — the tool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. tear — to rip
  21. drill — a practice
  22. tear — from crying
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. mug — to rob

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