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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: tear · nail · hand · bay · face · pitcher · content · sharp

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. hand — help
  5. face — to point toward
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. content — happy
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — clever
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. face — part of the head
  22. content — the amount
  23. face — to confront
  24. nail — on a finger

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