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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. tear — from crying
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. mine — for digging
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. content — happy
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. cold — an illness
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. content — the amount

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