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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. wind — moving air
  8. stand — to bear
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. bat — the animal
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. kid — to tease
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. kick — in football
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — rain
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wind — moving air

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