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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. mark — a grade
  5. bear — the animal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mate — to breed
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. bat — the animal
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. mate — a partner
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chest — a box

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