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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cell — in biology
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. spring — of water
  7. bore — to tire
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitch — completely
  10. spring — a coil
  11. cell — a phone
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. toast — bread
  16. track — a path
  17. bore — to drill
  18. tear — to rip
  19. spring — the season
  20. track — to keep track
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. track — a song
  24. tear — from crying

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