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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. tear — to rip
  7. chair — a leader
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. cap — a hat
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. object — to protest
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. cap — a lid
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. cold — not warm
  20. object — a thing
  21. cold — an illness
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. cap — of ice
  24. chair — a professorship

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