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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: bat · mouse · coach · spring · mark · race · tear · deal

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. spring — the season
  5. race — humankind
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. spring — of water
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bat — the animal
  11. deal — to handle
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. mark — a trace
  14. tear — from crying
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. race — a contest
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. race — the arms race
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. mark — a grade
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. tear — to rip
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. mouse — 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