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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. tear — to rip
  3. squash — to crush
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bass — the fish
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bat — the animal
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. tear — from crying
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bass — low music
  24. cabinet — ministers

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