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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 116 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. bat — the animal
  5. spring — the season
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. lean — to bend
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. last — final
  12. last — finally
  13. spring — a coil
  14. lean — thin
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. tear — to rip
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. last — to go on
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. spring — of water
  24. rush — a thrill

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