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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. tear — from crying
  3. last — final
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. staff — a stick
  6. degree — from a university
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bat — the animal
  11. staff — employees
  12. degree — temperature
  13. staff — employees
  14. last — to go on
  15. bulb — for light
  16. last — finally
  17. tear — to rip
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. degree — an amount
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bulb — for light
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. bat — for baseball

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