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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. squash — the sport
  3. content — the amount
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bat — the animal
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. tear — from crying
  12. squash — to crush
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a hat
  15. content — happy
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. tear — to rip
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cap — a lid

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