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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  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. bat — in an idiom
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mug — to rob
  4. mug — a cup
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. spring — of water
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. spring — a coil
  11. cell — in biology
  12. kid — to tease
  13. mug — a face
  14. cell — a phone
  15. kid — child
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. tear — from crying
  19. spring — the season
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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