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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. band — a ring
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wound — an injury
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. pitch — completely
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. tear — from crying
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. scale — size or range
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a music group
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. scale — in music
  23. snap — to click
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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