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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 120 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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. wave — with your hand
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bat — the animal
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. tear — from crying
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. pitch — completely
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. tear — to rip
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. squash — to crush
  19. cold — an illness
  20. squash — the sport
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  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