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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · leaves · tear · pitch · cell · straw

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. content — happy
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. cell — in biology
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. tear — from crying
  9. content — the amount
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. tear — to rip
  13. cell — a phone
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pitch — completely
  18. straw — dry grass

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