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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 120 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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. content — happy
  6. foot — a measure
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. game — wild animals
  11. fall — the season
  12. tear — from crying
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. content — the amount
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. game — a match
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. degree — temperature
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. content — videos and posts

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