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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. saw — the tool
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. present — there
  7. wake — a trail
  8. present — the time now
  9. cold — an illness
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. tear — from crying
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. cold — not warm
  21. saw — the tool
  22. present — a gift
  23. kick — in football
  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