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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chest — of your body
  3. firm — decided
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. mark — a grade
  6. perch — the fish
  7. spring — of water
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. rash — hasty
  12. spring — the season
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. chest — a box
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. firm — a company
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. firm — steady
  22. rash — a series
  23. mark — a trace
  24. spring — a coil

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