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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — to crush
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. content — happy
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. mine — for digging
  10. ground — the earth
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. content — the amount
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. squash — the sport
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pitch — completely
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — a position
  24. tear — from crying

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