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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 120 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: bat · safe · tear · spell · can · swing · cell · row

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. tear — to rip
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — in golf
  5. cell — in biology
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. cell — a phone
  8. row — to paddle
  9. spell — a short time
  10. can — a tin
  11. tear — from crying
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. spell — letters
  15. bat — the animal
  16. spell — magic
  17. row — a line
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. swing — to play on
  20. can — to be able to
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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