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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bear — the animal
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wound — an injury
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. rash — a series
  24. bat — for baseball

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