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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. band — a music group
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. land — ground
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. capital — a city
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bound — obliged
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. band — a ring
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bound — tied together
  18. capital — money
  19. stem — to come from
  20. land — a country
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. land — to come down
  24. bound — certain

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