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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stand — to bear
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. can — a tin
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — obliged
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. shower — rain
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. can — to be able to
  17. tear — from crying
  18. can — a tin
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bat — the animal
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. dip — to sink

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