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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. face — to confront
  5. shower — to wash
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. last — to go on
  8. shower — rain
  9. last — final
  10. face — to point toward
  11. last — finally
  12. pitch — completely
  13. tear — to rip
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. tear — from crying
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. kid — to tease
  18. fork — in a road
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. tear — from crying
  21. face — part of the head
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. kid — child
  24. lash — an eyelash

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