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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. present — a gift
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. present — there
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. fall — the season
  13. mine — for digging
  14. present — the time now
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. tear — from crying
  17. track — to keep track
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. track — a song
  21. track — a path
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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