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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. pitch — completely
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. tear — to rip
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. prune — to trim
  8. tear — from crying
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. kid — to tease
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. kid — child
  15. prune — to trim
  16. club — for dancing
  17. scale — in music
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. club — a group
  20. club — for golf
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. sharp — clever
  24. scale — size or range

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