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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. tear — to rip
  4. hand — in cards
  5. cell — a phone
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bulb — for light
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. hand — help

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