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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. tear — from crying
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — music
  8. march — the month
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. march — the month
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. swing — in golf
  17. tear — to rip
  18. degree — an amount
  19. craft — a skill
  20. march — music
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. lash — an eyelash

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