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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 116 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: staff · fan · row · pitch · hide · hand · season · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. staff — a stick
  3. tear — to rip
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. season — in sport
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — completely
  12. hand — help
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. staff — employees
  16. tear — from crying
  17. row — to paddle
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. row — a line
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. season — of the year
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. staff — employees
  24. hide — animal skin

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