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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. tear — from crying
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. content — happy
  9. pitch — completely
  10. sharp — clever
  11. game — wild animals
  12. shower — rain
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. drill — army training
  15. game — a match
  16. shower — to wash
  17. tear — to rip
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — the amount
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. drill — the tool
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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