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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. race — humankind
  3. tear — from crying
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wake — a trail
  6. lie — to recline
  7. swing — music
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. fall — to drop
  16. swing — to play on
  17. fall — the season
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. race — a contest
  21. stock — goods
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bat — the animal

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