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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. wind — moving air
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. content — happy
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. ball — a dance
  9. lie — to recline
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chair — a leader
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. content — the amount
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. ball — a great time
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. pitch — completely
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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