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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. suit — to fit
  3. present — a gift
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. suit — in cards
  7. stock — goods
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. vault — a safe
  11. tear — to rip
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wound — an injury
  14. suit — clothes
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. stock — shares
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. present — the time now
  21. present — there
  22. wound — an injury
  23. kid — child
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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