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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. tear — from crying
  3. court — for sport
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. spell — a short time
  6. drill — army training
  7. press — a publisher
  8. chip — for betting
  9. spell — magic
  10. chip — to eat
  11. court — of a king
  12. press — newspapers
  13. spell — letters
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. drill — the tool
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. hand — help
  18. drill — a practice
  19. court — of law
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. press — to push
  23. pitch — completely
  24. hand — in cards

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