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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bat — the animal
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. root — of a plant
  9. staff — employees
  10. board — to get on
  11. tear — to rip
  12. chest — a box
  13. board — a committee
  14. squash — the sport
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. tear — from crying
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. root — of a word
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  24. root — the cause

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