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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. present — the time now
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. tear — from crying
  5. charge — a price
  6. firm — decided
  7. tear — from crying
  8. charge — in control
  9. rest — a break
  10. present — there
  11. firm — a company
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. tear — to rip
  14. track — to keep track
  15. charge — electricity
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. track — a song
  18. bat — the animal
  19. present — a gift
  20. rest — what's left
  21. track — a path
  22. kid — child
  23. firm — steady
  24. rest — what's left

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