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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. scale — size or range
  5. object — an aim
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. scale — in music
  10. roll — a list
  11. tear — from crying
  12. roll — a cake
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bat — the animal
  15. kid — to tease
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. rush — hurry
  18. object — a thing
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. object — to protest
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. tear — to rip
  23. kid — child
  24. bat — for baseball

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