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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: tube · bowl · club · stick · tear · bat

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. tube — a container
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tear — to rip
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. club — for dancing
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. club — a group
  16. club — for golf
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. bowl — to roll

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