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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pass — a permit
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. cell — a phone
  13. pitch — completely
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. shower — rain

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