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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. squash — the sport
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. tear — to rip
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. ground — a position
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. squash — to crush
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pound — a weight
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. pitch — completely
  19. ground — the earth
  20. tear — from crying
  21. march — music
  22. ground — crushed
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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