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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 116 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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. suit — to fit
  3. wound — an injury
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. wound — an injury
  7. row — a line
  8. suit — in cards
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. root — of a plant
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pitch — completely
  15. root — of a word
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. row — to paddle
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cold — not warm
  20. root — the cause
  21. suit — clothes
  22. perch — the fish
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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