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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: rule · wound · tear · racket · toast · hide · bat · coach

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. wound — an injury
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. wound — an injury
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. rule — government
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bat — the animal
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. toast — bread
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rule — a law

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