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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  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. racket — a loud noise
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. tear — from crying
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. content — happy
  6. stand — to bear
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. march — the month
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bass — low music
  12. sharp — clever
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. content — the amount
  22. bass — the fish
  23. stand — on your feet
  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