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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 120 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. track — a path
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — to tease
  12. track — to keep track
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mug — a face
  15. rush — hurry
  16. mug — to rob
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. mug — a cup
  19. track — a song
  20. tear — to rip
  21. kid — child
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. mine — belonging to me

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