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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. march — the month
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mine — for digging
  10. club — a group
  11. degree — temperature
  12. march — the month
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. club — for golf
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. tear — to rip
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — of the year
  24. march — music

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