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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — humankind
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. tear — from crying
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. tear — from crying
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. wake — a trail

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