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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. tear — from crying
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bat — the animal
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. game — a match
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. game — wild animals
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. tear — to rip
  24. pitch — completely

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