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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: bore · pitcher · content · lash · coach · tear · toast · wind

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bore — to tire
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. tear — to rip
  13. toast — bread
  14. bore — to drill
  15. wind — moving air
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. content — happy
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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