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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.

Make a worksheet

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: hand · hide · bat · can · tear · row · club · clip

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. hand — help
  5. bat — the animal
  6. club — for dancing
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. tear — from crying
  10. can — a tin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. can — to be able to
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. row — a line
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. clip — a video
  21. can — a tin
  22. club — a group
  23. club — for golf
  24. bat — in an idiom

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