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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. tear — from crying
  5. kid — to tease
  6. tube — a container
  7. degree — an amount
  8. face — to point toward
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — part of the head
  12. degree — from a university
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. tear — to rip
  16. degree — temperature
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tear — from crying

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