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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. pitch — completely
  4. tear — from crying
  5. squash — the sport
  6. chest — of your body
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. chest — a box
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. sharp — clever
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. net — after costs
  23. squash — to crush
  24. band — a music group

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