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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. game — a match
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. plane — a tool
  5. mug — to rob
  6. mug — a cup
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mug — a face
  13. tear — from crying
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. game — wild animals
  21. tear — to rip
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — child
  24. bat — in an idiom

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