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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bank — of a river
  5. tear — from crying
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. wound — an injury
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. content — happy
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. spell — a short time
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bank — for money
  19. spell — magic
  20. bank — for money
  21. squash — to crush
  22. content — the amount
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. spell — letters

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