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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. squash — to crush
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bat — the animal
  8. squash — the sport
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. lie — to recline
  11. bear — the animal
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. net — for catching
  16. bear — the animal
  17. net — after costs
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. saw — the tool
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. saw — the tool
  23. tear — from crying
  24. lie — an untruth

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