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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bore — to tire
  3. tear — from crying
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. fine — all right
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. wound — an injury
  10. row — a line
  11. tear — to rip
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bore — to drill
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. row — to paddle
  16. scale — in music
  17. tear — from crying
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. fine — high quality
  23. scale — size or range
  24. row — a quarrel

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