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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. tear — to rip
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cell — a phone
  6. land — to come down
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mug — a face
  10. hand — help
  11. land — ground
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. cell — in biology
  14. tear — from crying
  15. hand — in cards
  16. land — a country
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. mug — to rob
  20. foot — a measure
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. tear — from crying

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