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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 120 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. tear — from crying
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cap — a lid
  5. tear — to rip
  6. cap — a hat
  7. mug — a face
  8. file — a document
  9. prune — to trim
  10. object — a thing
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kick — in football
  14. tear — from crying
  15. object — an aim
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. cap — of ice
  18. kid — child
  19. object — to protest
  20. file — a line of people
  21. kid — to tease
  22. file — a tool
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. mug — a cup

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