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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. She's very handy with 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. tear — from crying
  2. club — a group
  3. chest — of your body
  4. club — for dancing
  5. tear — to rip
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. spring — a coil
  8. chest — of your body
  9. tear — from crying
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. dip — to sink
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. club — for golf
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. chest — a box
  17. spring — the season
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. spring — of water
  20. deal — to handle
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. saw — the tool
  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