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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wound — an injury
  3. fall — the season
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cap — a hat
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pound — a weight
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bat — the animal
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cap — of ice
  13. fall — to drop
  14. foot — a measure
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. cap — a lid
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. tear — to rip
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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