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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: bound · snap · mug · field · tear · squash · wave · bat

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bound — tied together
  5. mug — to rob
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. field — farmland
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bound — certain
  12. snap — to click
  13. mug — a cup
  14. mug — a face
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. field — for sport
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bound — obliged
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. field — a subject
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. tear — to rip
  24. squash — the sport

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