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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: game · date · bat · root · lash · bay · tear · bound

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bat — the animal
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bound — certain
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — of a plant
  10. date — the fruit
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — obliged
  17. root — the cause
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. game — a match
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. tear — from crying
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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