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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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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: bear · saw · bat · wound · stick · temple · tear · mug

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mug — a face
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mug — a cup
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. mug — to rob
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wound — an injury
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bear — the animal
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. temple — a place of worship

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