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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. ball — a dance
  3. tear — to rip
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. tear — from crying
  6. spell — letters
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. spell — magic
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bat — the animal
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. spell — a short time
  18. game — a match

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