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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pitch — completely
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. tear — to rip
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. swing — to play on
  9. wake — a trail
  10. drill — army training
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. tear — from crying
  14. drill — a practice
  15. swing — music
  16. drill — the tool
  17. can — a tin
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. swing — in golf
  23. can — a tin
  24. band — a music group

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