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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: cold · pass · bat · tear · suit · content · nail · arm

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. suit — in cards
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. pass — a permit
  9. content — the amount
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. cold — not warm
  13. content — happy
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. suit — clothes
  16. cold — an illness
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. suit — to fit
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. tear — from crying
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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