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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chest — a box
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chest — of your body
  8. tube — a container
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. chest — of your body
  11. swing — in golf
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. swing — music
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a leader
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. lie — to recline
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. swing — to play on
  24. deal — to handle

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