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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 116 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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ground — a position
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. ground — the earth
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bat — in an idiom

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