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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. current — happening now
  4. tear — from crying
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. lie — to recline
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. current — of water
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. sharp — clever
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. current — electric
  22. tear — to rip
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. tear — from crying

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