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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: row · bat · march · rush · tear · lean · kid · hide

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. march — the month
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. tear — from crying
  6. march — the month
  7. kid — to tease
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. bat — the animal
  11. row — a line
  12. tear — from crying
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. kid — child
  15. march — music
  16. tear — to rip
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. rush — hurry
  20. lean — to bend
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. lean — thin
  23. row — to paddle
  24. hide — animal skin

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