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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. pitch — completely
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. hand — in cards
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. tear — from crying
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. rush — hurry
  11. present — there
  12. present — a gift
  13. spring — of water
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. spring — a coil
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. hand — help
  18. spring — the season
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. tear — to rip
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. tear — from crying
  24. present — the time now

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