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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. track — a song
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. track — to keep track
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. fall — to drop
  22. kick — in football
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pitcher — a jug

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