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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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Word bank
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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 · wound · ball · firm · saw · bat · hide · sharp

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. sharp — clever
  2. firm — steady
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. tear — to rip
  5. saw — the tool
  6. tear — from crying
  7. ball — a dance
  8. firm — a company
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tear — from crying
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. firm — decided
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. saw — the tool
  18. ball — a great time
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wound — an injury
  23. sharp — exactly
  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