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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. saw — the tool
  3. tear — from crying
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. snap — to click
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. pass — a permit
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. ball — a dance
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. bat — the animal

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