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

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. chest — a box
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. foot — a measure
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — a position
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. chest — of your body
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. ground — crushed
  16. tear — from crying
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. pitch — completely

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