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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. pitch — completely
  5. tear — to rip
  6. drill — army training
  7. tear — from crying
  8. drill — a practice
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. game — a match
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. content — happy
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. tear — from crying
  16. drill — the tool
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. game — wild animals

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