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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. prune — to trim
  3. tube — the underground
  4. prune — to trim
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. tear — from crying
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. stand — to bear
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. tear — to rip
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. tube — a container
  19. rash — a series
  20. snap — to click
  21. rash — hasty
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tube — in a tire

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