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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: bat · club · wound · row · cabinet · tear · deal · suit

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. suit — clothes
  3. suit — to fit
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. tear — to rip
  8. suit — in cards
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. deal — to handle
  11. wound — an injury
  12. club — for golf
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. row — a line
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. wound — an injury
  20. club — a group
  21. bat — the animal
  22. club — for dancing
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. row — a quarrel

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