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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — the animal
  3. tear — from crying
  4. fine — all right
  5. game — wild animals
  6. clip — to cut
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. clip — a video
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. clip — for paper
  15. tube — the underground
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. tube — a container
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. game — a match
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. toast — bread

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