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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. spring — a coil
  4. pitch — completely
  5. chair — a leader
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. fork — in a road
  11. tear — from crying
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. tear — to rip
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. spring — of water
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. spring — the season
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — to come from

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