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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: fall · clip · suit · bat · bore · tear · face · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bore — to drill
  5. clip — a video
  6. fall — the season
  7. suit — in cards
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bat — the animal
  10. clip — to cut
  11. face — part of the head
  12. bore — to tire
  13. fall — to drop
  14. tear — to rip
  15. suit — clothes
  16. fall — to drop
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. face — to point toward
  21. tear — from crying
  22. face — to confront
  23. suit — to fit
  24. bat — in an idiom

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