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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. shower — to wash
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. tear — from crying
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. tear — to rip
  9. ball — a dance
  10. board — a committee
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. rash — hasty
  14. ball — a great time
  15. shower — rain
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. tube — the underground
  21. board — to get on
  22. tube — a container
  23. rash — a series
  24. ground — the earth

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