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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. net — after costs
  6. cell — in biology
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. perch — the fish
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — part of the head
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cell — a phone
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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