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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. staff — a stick
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. tear — from crying
  5. lie — to recline
  6. toast — bread
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wound — an injury
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. staff — employees
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. staff — employees
  19. date — the fruit
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. tear — to rip
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. date — on the calendar

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