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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. net — in sport
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. ground — a position
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ground — the earth
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. net — for catching
  14. tear — to rip
  15. net — after costs
  16. ground — crushed
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. band — a music group
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. band — a ring
  23. wind — moving air
  24. band — a rubber band

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