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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 120 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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. tear — from crying
  3. capital — a city
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. shower — to wash
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. shower — rain
  10. capital — money
  11. bank — of a river
  12. bank — for money
  13. bark — to shout
  14. tear — from crying
  15. sharp — clever
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bank — for money
  18. tear — to rip

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