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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. face — to confront
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — a practice
  6. ball — a great time
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. mine — for digging
  10. drill — the tool
  11. can — to be able to
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. bat — the animal
  14. face — part of the head
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. ball — a dance
  17. can — a tin
  18. face — to point toward
  19. can — a tin
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. tear — from crying
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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