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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. game — wild animals
  3. club — for dancing
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. game — a match
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. tear — from crying
  11. branch — a division
  12. pitch — completely
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. club — a group
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — music
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. pop — to visit
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. club — for golf
  24. wound — an injury

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