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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: tear · bat · fine · mouse · swing · chest · race · bear

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. chest — of your body
  9. race — a contest
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bear — the animal
  14. tear — to rip
  15. swing — music
  16. tear — from crying
  17. race — humankind
  18. fine — all right
  19. fine — high quality
  20. bear — the animal
  21. swing — in golf
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. chest — a box
  24. bat — the animal

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