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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bound — tied together
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — the cause
  6. race — humankind
  7. root — of a plant
  8. race — a contest
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. tear — to rip
  11. chest — of your body
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bound — certain
  16. chest — of your body
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bound — obliged
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. prune — to trim
  22. race — the arms race
  23. chest — a box
  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