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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. object — a thing
  4. object — to protest
  5. chest — of your body
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. ground — crushed
  8. tear — from crying
  9. object — an aim
  10. dip — to sink
  11. fall — the season
  12. tear — to rip
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kick — in football
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fall — to drop
  19. shower — to wash
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. shower — rain
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — the earth

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