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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fall — to drop
  3. season — in sport
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. rest — what's left
  7. spring — a coil
  8. craft — boats
  9. spring — the season
  10. bat — the animal
  11. spring — of water
  12. fall — the season
  13. mate — a friend
  14. craft — a skill
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — of the year
  17. rest — a break
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a partner
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rest — what's left
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bat — for baseball

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