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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 120 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tear — from crying
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. dip — to sink
  13. wound — an injury
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pitch — completely
  16. tear — to rip
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rush — hurry
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. chair — a leader
  24. game — a kind of play

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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