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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 120 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  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 — in an idiom
  2. game — a match
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. mark — a trace
  5. kid — child
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. tear — to rip
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. degree — from a university
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. game — wild animals
  14. rush — hurry
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. degree — an amount
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — to tease
  19. tear — from crying
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. mark — a grade
  22. degree — temperature
  23. safe — out of danger
  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