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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. tear — from crying
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. pit — in a race
  11. bat — the animal
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. pit — a hole
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. season — of the year
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. straw — a straw man

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