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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. tear — to rip
  4. march — the month
  5. tear — from crying
  6. face — to confront
  7. content — happy
  8. pitch — completely
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. march — the month
  14. face — to point toward
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. content — the amount
  20. march — music
  21. foot — a measure
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. content — videos and posts

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