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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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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: rest · bat · pound · wake · board · tube · mouse · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. tube — the underground
  4. pound — a weight
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bat — the animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. wake — a trail
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. board — a committee
  15. rest — a break
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. tube — a container
  20. board — to get on
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pound — for dogs

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