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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · kick · lean · wind · pit · tear

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pit — a hole
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pit — in a race
  9. lean — to bend
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lean — thin
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kick — in football
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. tear — to rip

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