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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. face — to confront
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. rest — what's left
  6. court — for sport
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rest — a break
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. face — to point toward
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — to handle
  14. tear — to rip
  15. court — of a king
  16. face — part of the head
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. court — of law
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pitch — completely
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. rest — what's left
  24. coach — a trainer

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