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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. face — to confront
  4. band — a ring
  5. tear — from crying
  6. craft — boats
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. band — a music group
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. pitch — completely
  13. face — part of the head
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bat — the animal
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. tear — to rip
  23. face — to point toward
  24. craft — a skill

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