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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wake — a trail
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. present — there
  7. net — after costs
  8. capital — a city
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — in sport
  11. present — the time now
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fork — in a road
  16. capital — money
  17. present — a gift
  18. tear — from crying

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