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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. craft — a skill
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bat — the animal
  12. chest — of your body
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. pound — a weight
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. chest — a box
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. craft — boats

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