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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. tear — from crying
  3. object — a thing
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. branch — a division
  6. chest — of your body
  7. craft — boats
  8. chest — of your body
  9. object — to protest
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. object — an aim
  12. content — the amount
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. chest — a box
  15. tear — from crying
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. craft — a skill
  20. lie — to recline
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. tear — to rip
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. pitch — completely

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