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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. tear — from crying
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. pass — a permit
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. rest — a break
  11. wound — an injury
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bank — for money
  15. rest — what's left
  16. content — the amount
  17. rest — what's left
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bank — for money
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bank — of a river
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. deal — to handle

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