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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. tear — from crying
  3. content — happy
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. content — the amount
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. wake — a trail
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. mug — to rob
  11. tear — to rip
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — to crush
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. tear — from crying
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. squash — the sport
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. mug — a cup
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. mug — a face
  24. coach — a trainer

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