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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mate — a friend
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bear — the animal
  12. game — wild animals
  13. mate — a partner
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. mate — to breed
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. pit — a hole
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bat — the animal
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pit — in a race
  24. game — a match

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