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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bound — obliged
  5. tear — from crying
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bound — certain
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. file — a line of people
  11. kid — to tease
  12. file — a tool
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. drill — the tool
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. kick — in football
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. file — a document
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bound — tied together

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