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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. wind — moving air
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — help
  12. tear — to rip
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stock — shares
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. content — the amount
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wind — moving air
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. content — happy
  24. stock — goods

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