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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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. ruler — for measuring
  4. drill — the tool
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. spell — magic
  10. tear — to rip
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. pitch — completely
  16. cold — an illness
  17. tear — from crying
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cold — not warm
  20. shower — to wash
  21. drill — army training
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. drill — a practice
  24. spell — letters

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