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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. race — the arms race
  5. tear — from crying
  6. press — a publisher
  7. press — to push
  8. spring — of water
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rule — a law
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. race — humankind
  15. tear — to rip
  16. race — a contest
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. kid — child
  19. press — newspapers
  20. drill — a practice
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — the tool
  24. rule — government

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