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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.

Make a worksheet

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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stand — to bear
  3. chest — a box
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — the season
  7. content — happy
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rock — music
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rock — a stone
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. tear — to rip
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. stand — for spectators

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