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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: can · last · bat · tear · mine · chest · swing · fan

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. can — a tin
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mine — for digging
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chest — of your body
  11. swing — music
  12. can — to be able to
  13. swing — to play on
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. can — a tin
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. chest — a box
  20. last — finally
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. swing — in golf
  24. chest — of your body

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