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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. object — a thing
  4. object — an aim
  5. object — to protest
  6. shower — to wash
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — a group
  12. shower — rain
  13. rest — a break
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rest — what's left
  16. tear — to rip
  17. clip — a video
  18. club — for golf
  19. foot — a measure
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. tear — from crying
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — with a leg

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