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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 124 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  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. tear — to rip
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bound — certain
  5. race — humankind
  6. bound — tied together
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wake — a trail
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. race — the arms race
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. race — a contest
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — the season
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. tube — a container
  23. bound — obliged
  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