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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. tear — from crying
  3. deal — to handle
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. squash — to crush
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. tear — from crying
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. row — to paddle
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. tear — to rip
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. row — a line
  20. squash — the sport
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. deal — an agreement

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