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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. tear — from crying
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. kid — child
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — hasty
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. rash — a series
  13. wake — a trail
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — completely
  16. mug — a face
  17. mug — to rob
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. tear — to rip
  24. kid — to tease

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