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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. mine — for digging
  5. net — after costs
  6. firm — decided
  7. net — for catching
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. firm — a company
  10. net — in sport
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. firm — steady
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. tear — from crying
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — child
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. wind — moving air
  21. tear — from crying
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. wind — moving air

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