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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. land — ground
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bat — the animal
  8. fine — all right
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. land — a country
  13. land — to come down
  14. pit — a hole
  15. tear — from crying
  16. row — a line
  17. pit — in a race
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. row — to paddle
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. tear — from crying
  24. hide — animal skin

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