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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 120 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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. kid — child
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. tear — to rip
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. fall — to drop
  7. game — a match
  8. fall — the season
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. tear — from crying
  12. kid — to tease
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wound — an injury
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. can — to be able to
  19. wound — an injury
  20. can — a tin
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. fall — to drop
  24. can — a tin

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