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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. tear — to rip
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a committee
  8. firm — decided
  9. firm — steady
  10. cap — of ice
  11. game — wild animals
  12. mine — for digging
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bat — the animal
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. tear — from crying
  21. firm — a company
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. cap — a hat
  24. game — a match

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