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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. shower — to wash
  4. tear — to rip
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. field — farmland
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. pound — a weight
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. tear — from crying
  13. shower — rain
  14. kid — child
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. field — for sport
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. kid — to tease
  21. tear — from crying
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. field — a subject
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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