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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. tear — to rip
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. cap — of ice
  5. season — of the year
  6. chest — a box
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. tear — from crying
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — happy
  12. mark — a grade
  13. cap — a hat
  14. pitch — completely
  15. cap — a lid
  16. chest — of your body
  17. content — the amount
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. season — in sport
  21. field — for sport
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. tear — from crying
  24. chest — of your body

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