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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — a trail
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bulb — for light
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bulb — for light
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. kid — child
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. tear — to rip
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. bat — in an idiom

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