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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pitch — completely
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. mate — a friend
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bark — to shout
  10. lean — thin
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. lean — to bend
  22. hand — help
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bat — in an idiom

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