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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. net — in sport
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. saw — the tool
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bat — the animal
  8. tear — from crying
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. net — for catching
  11. hand — help
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. swing — music
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. saw — the tool
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. swing — in golf
  18. hand — in cards
  19. net — after costs
  20. swing — to play on
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. toast — bread
  23. tear — from crying
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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