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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 120 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 · club · cap · squash · net · calf · board · bat

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. cap — of ice
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. club — for dancing
  5. bat — the animal
  6. board — to get on
  7. cap — a hat
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. club — for golf
  10. net — in sport
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. cap — a lid
  15. tear — to rip
  16. squash — to crush
  17. tear — from crying
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. tear — from crying
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — for catching
  22. board — a committee
  23. club — a group
  24. squash — the vegetable

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