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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. net — for catching
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bear — the animal
  6. tear — from crying
  7. saw — the tool
  8. chest — of your body
  9. ground — the earth
  10. saw — the tool
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. net — in sport
  16. chest — a box
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. tear — to rip
  19. net — after costs
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bear — the animal
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — a position

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