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

Word bank: bat · tear · race · spring · kid · club · lean · bay

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. club — for golf
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. tear — from crying
  6. spring — of water
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. lean — thin
  9. club — a group
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. club — for dancing
  12. tear — to rip
  13. race — the arms race
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. race — a contest
  20. spring — a coil
  21. race — humankind
  22. lean — to bend
  23. spring — the season
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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