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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: tear · foot · last · pitch · court · wind

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wind — moving air
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. foot — a measure
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. last — finally
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tear — from crying
  14. last — to go on
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. pitch — completely
  17. last — final
  18. court — for sport

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