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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 120 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: tear · safe · hide · scale · deal · pitcher · mate · bat

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. tear — from crying
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. scale — size or range
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bat — the animal
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. mate — a partner
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. scale — in music
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. tear — to rip
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. deal — to handle
  24. mate — to breed

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