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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bound — tied together
  3. tear — from crying
  4. net — after costs
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bound — obliged
  7. suit — in cards
  8. suit — to fit
  9. suit — clothes
  10. march — music
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. net — for catching
  14. bat — the animal
  15. net — in sport
  16. bound — certain
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. tear — from crying
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. calf — of the leg

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