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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. tear — to rip
  4. pitch — completely
  5. content — happy
  6. clip — for paper
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. drill — a practice
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. rush — hurry
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. clip — to cut
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. content — the amount
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rule — government
  20. rule — a law
  21. clip — a video
  22. drill — the tool
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. drill — army training

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