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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: pass · bat · ball · race · chest · bowl · tear · roll

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. race — humankind
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. roll — a cake
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. race — the arms race
  14. chest — a box
  15. tear — from crying
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a great time
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bat — the animal
  20. chest — of your body
  21. race — a contest
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pass — a permit
  24. roll — a list

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