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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. land — ground
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. land — to come down
  5. spell — magic
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bat — the animal
  11. spell — a short time
  12. pop — music
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. pop — to visit
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. land — a country
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. spell — letters
  24. pop — soda

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