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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. pit — a hole
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. rule — a law
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. wax — to grow
  11. dip — to sink
  12. tear — to rip
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rule — government
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. rule — to rule out

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