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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. tube — the underground
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. hand — help
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. hand — in cards
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. ball — a dance
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. pitch — completely
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. ball — a great time
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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