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

Word bank: hand · tear · stick · pitch · rule · bear

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. tear — from crying
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. rule — a law
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bear — the animal
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. hand — in cards
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bear — the animal
  16. pitch — completely
  17. rule — government
  18. pitch — a sales talk

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