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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pitch — completely
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. chest — a box
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. tear — from crying
  11. row — a line
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. chest — of your body
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. row — to paddle
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bowl — a football final

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