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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. root — of a plant
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. mine — for digging
  11. track — to keep track
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. root — the cause
  14. last — finally
  15. track — a song
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. track — a path
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pitch — completely
  22. last — to go on
  23. stand — to bear
  24. root — of a word

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