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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 120 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. can — a tin
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. tear — from crying
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. can — to be able to
  10. chest — of your body
  11. board — to get on
  12. net — after costs
  13. chest — a box
  14. rule — a law
  15. can — a tin
  16. chest — of your body
  17. net — in sport
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. board — a committee
  21. net — for catching
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. rule — government

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