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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. field — farmland
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. tear — to rip
  8. perch — the fish
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. row — a line
  11. rule — government
  12. row — to paddle
  13. rule — a law
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. hand — help
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. hand — in cards
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. row — a quarrel

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