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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. cell — a phone
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. drill — army training
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. vault — a safe
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mark — a trace
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cell — in biology
  19. mark — a grade
  20. bear — the animal
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. tear — from crying
  23. drill — the tool
  24. season — in sport

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