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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. stand — to bear
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. row — to paddle
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. kid — child
  12. bear — the animal
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. tear — from crying
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. tear — to rip
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bear — the animal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pound — a weight
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. calf — a young animal

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