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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. pitch — completely
  4. kid — child
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. tear — to rip
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. kid — to tease
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. tear — from crying
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. tear — from crying

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