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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 · pitch · mouse · rush · lie · cell · spell · roll

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. tear — from crying
  6. spell — magic
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. cell — a phone
  9. spell — letters
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. tear — from crying
  13. roll — a list
  14. rush — hurry
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. cell — in biology
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. lie — to recline
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. roll — a cake
  23. tear — to rip
  24. spell — a short time

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