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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 looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spring — of water
  4. mark — a trace
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. tube — a container
  10. tube — the underground
  11. perch — the fish
  12. mark — a grade
  13. bass — the fish
  14. content — the amount
  15. spring — a coil
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. bass — low music
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. spring — the season
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. content — happy
  23. perch — for a bird
  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