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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 120 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. pit — a hole
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. pitch — completely
  8. track — a path
  9. hand — help
  10. track — a song
  11. pit — in a race
  12. kid — child
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. track — to keep track
  19. net — for catching
  20. tear — to rip
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. hand — in cards
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pitch — a sports field

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