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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. mate — to breed
  3. club — for golf
  4. hand — help
  5. tear — to rip
  6. club — a group
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. mate — a partner
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. file — a document
  16. mate — a friend
  17. hand — in cards
  18. file — a tool
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. tear — from crying
  21. club — for dancing
  22. file — a line of people
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — a sauce

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