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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bound — certain
  5. capital — money
  6. bound — tied together
  7. chest — a box
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. cell — in biology
  10. pound — a weight
  11. cell — a phone
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bound — obliged
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. chest — of your body
  18. capital — a city

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