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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pitch — completely
  9. bat — the animal
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. club — a group
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. club — for golf
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. club — for dancing
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. shower — rain
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. vault — a safe
  24. tear — to rip

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