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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.

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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. shower — to wash
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. kick — in football
  11. band — a music group
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. band — a ring
  15. mine — for digging
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. shower — rain
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. stem — to come from
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. tear — from crying
  24. stand — to bear

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