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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: pitcher · tear · content · spring · pitch · arm · fork · bound

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. tear — from crying
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bound — tied together
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. content — the amount
  12. bound — certain
  13. content — happy
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pitch — completely
  20. bound — obliged
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. spring — of water
  23. fork — in a road
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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