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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: deal · pit · row · stick · bat · tear · spring · saw

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  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. pit — in a race
  2. bat — the animal
  3. saw — the tool
  4. spring — the season
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. tear — to rip
  7. deal — to handle
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a line
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. pit — a hole
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. tear — from crying
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. tear — from crying
  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