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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. scale — size or range
  3. track — a path
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. tear — from crying
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. rash — hasty
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rash — a series
  14. track — a song
  15. scale — in music
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — help
  18. track — to keep track
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. row — a line
  22. kick — in football
  23. deal — to handle
  24. row — to paddle

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