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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. court — of a king
  4. tear — to rip
  5. present — there
  6. court — for sport
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bass — the fish
  9. present — the time now
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. present — a gift
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bass — low music
  16. court — of law
  17. fall — the season
  18. saw — the tool
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. wound — an injury

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