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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. content — happy
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. key — for a lock
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. key — in music
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. tear — from crying
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. key — the most important part
  23. bat — the animal
  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