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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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. pitcher — in baseball
  2. lean — to bend
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. cue — a signal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. field — for sport
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — to recline
  17. cue — a hint
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — a subject
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cue — for pool
  22. lean — thin
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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