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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. bulb — for light
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kid — child
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bulb — for light
  18. cell — a phone
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cell — in biology
  21. stand — to bear
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — to breed

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