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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bear — the animal
  6. race — the arms race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. race — a contest
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. pit — in a race
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. perch — the fish
  14. tear — to rip
  15. race — humankind
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. row — to paddle
  20. pit — a hole
  21. tear — from crying
  22. row — a line
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wound — an injury

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