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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. tear — from crying
  5. degree — an amount
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. hand — in cards
  8. staff — a stick
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. staff — employees
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. kick — in football
  15. hand — help
  16. tear — from crying
  17. dip — to sink
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. perch — the fish
  23. tear — to rip
  24. staff — employees

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