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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. game — a match
  3. deal — to handle
  4. fine — high quality
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. cue — a hint
  10. file — a tool
  11. fine — all right
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cue — a signal
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. tear — to rip
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. file — a document
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. file — a line of people
  24. game — wild animals

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