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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. row — a line
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. staff — a stick
  7. cap — a hat
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rest — a break
  10. cap — of ice
  11. pound — a weight
  12. staff — employees
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. staff — employees
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. rest — what's left
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. cap — a lid
  23. pound — for dogs
  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