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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. mug — a face
  4. toast — bread
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mug — a cup
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — a weight
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. tear — to rip
  13. mug — to rob
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. tear — from crying
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a car

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