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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wound — an injury
  4. craft — boats
  5. cap — of ice
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. tear — from crying
  8. craft — a skill
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. tear — to rip
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tear — from crying
  19. drill — army training
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — a lid
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. game — a match

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