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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pit — in a race
  3. race — a contest
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pit — a hole
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. ground — the earth
  13. race — humankind
  14. land — to come down
  15. ground — crushed
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ground — a position
  18. hand — help
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. race — the arms race
  24. hand — in cards

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