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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. firm — decided
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. tear — to rip
  6. spell — a short time
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. kid — child
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spell — letters
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. firm — a company
  19. shower — rain
  20. kid — to tease
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. last — finally
  23. firm — steady
  24. spell — magic

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