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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: mark · kid · sharp · bat · perch · tear · racket · bowl

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bat — the animal
  9. kid — to tease
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. mark — a trace
  13. sharp — clever
  14. mark — a grade
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. kid — child
  21. tear — from crying
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. racket — for tennis

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