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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 124 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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mug — to rob
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. tear — to rip
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. mug — a cup
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. chest — of your body
  12. snap — to click
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. pass — a permit
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. mug — a face

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