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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: lie · mouse · pass · bat · tear · drill · wound · chest

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. drill — a practice
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. drill — the tool
  7. wound — an injury
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pass — a permit
  14. chest — a box
  15. lie — to recline
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. drill — army training
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. tear — from crying

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