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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. rock — music
  3. mate — to breed
  4. pitch — completely
  5. file — a tool
  6. spring — a coil
  7. swing — to play on
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. file — a document
  10. content — the amount
  11. swing — in golf
  12. file — a line of people
  13. spring — of water
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. swing — music
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — a friend
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rock — a stone
  21. spring — the season
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. tear — from crying
  24. content — happy

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