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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. firm — steady
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. saw — the tool
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mark — a grade
  11. firm — a company
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. degree — an amount
  15. tear — to rip
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. degree — temperature
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. firm — decided
  22. bat — the animal
  23. degree — from a university
  24. coach — a trainer

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