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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. tear — from crying
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. tear — from crying
  8. court — of a king
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. land — ground
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. rock — a stone
  15. land — a country
  16. bat — the animal
  17. court — for sport
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. court — of law
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pitch — completely
  23. rock — music
  24. land — to come down

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