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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. lean — thin
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. tear — from crying
  6. band — a ring
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — hasty
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. lean — to bend
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a music group
  14. court — of a king
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. court — for sport
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. court — of law
  22. bat — the animal
  23. tear — to rip
  24. rash — a series

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