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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. tear — from crying
  7. march — music
  8. spring — the season
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. march — the month
  11. tear — from crying
  12. firm — steady
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. spring — a coil
  15. firm — a company
  16. march — the month
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. tear — to rip
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. shower — rain
  21. kick — in football
  22. spring — of water
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. firm — decided

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