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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tube — the underground
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tear — to rip
  9. chest — of your body
  10. current — happening now
  11. capital — money
  12. chest — a box
  13. current — of water
  14. tube — a container
  15. snap — to click
  16. current — electric
  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