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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 120 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bat — the animal
  8. tear — from crying
  9. key — for a lock
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. game — a match
  13. game — wild animals
  14. key — the most important part
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. tear — from crying
  17. key — in music
  18. lean — thin
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. lean — to bend
  21. wound — an injury
  22. tear — to rip
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

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