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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  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. content — videos and posts
  2. content — the amount
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. last — to go on
  9. content — happy
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pitch — completely
  13. last — final
  14. mark — a trace
  15. last — finally
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mark — a grade
  18. tear — to rip
  19. deal — to handle
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. deal — a big deal
  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