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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 120 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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  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. game — wild animals
  2. content — happy
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. chest — a box
  6. bear — the animal
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — a match
  9. content — the amount
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. tear — from crying
  12. scale — size or range
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pitch — completely
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. chest — of your body
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. tear — to rip
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  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