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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hand — help
  3. chest — a box
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. hand — in cards
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. track — a song
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bear — the animal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. track — a path
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chest — of your body
  23. track — to keep track
  24. pass — a permit

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