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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 116 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. cap — a hat
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. tear — to rip
  6. capital — money
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cell — a phone
  9. present — a gift
  10. cell — in biology
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. present — the time now
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  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