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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. land — to come down
  4. tear — to rip
  5. face — part of the head
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. drill — army training
  8. suit — to fit
  9. suit — in cards
  10. face — to confront
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bore — to tire
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bore — to drill
  18. land — a country
  19. tear — from crying
  20. face — to point toward
  21. tear — from crying
  22. sharp — clever
  23. drill — the tool
  24. suit — clothes

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