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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. content — happy
  3. tear — from crying
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. wind — moving air
  7. content — the amount
  8. kick — in football
  9. root — of a word
  10. last — to go on
  11. bark — to shout
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. tear — to rip
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. last — finally
  17. root — the cause
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. tear — from crying
  21. root — of a plant
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. last — final
  24. wind — moving air

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