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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. swing — to play on
  3. bat — the animal
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. present — a gift
  6. kid — to tease
  7. present — there
  8. toast — bread
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wind — moving air
  11. deal — to handle
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tear — to rip
  14. present — the time now
  15. kid — child
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. swing — music
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. swing — in golf
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. toast — the most admired

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