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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. capital — money
  3. tear — to rip
  4. mug — a face
  5. mug — a cup
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bass — the fish
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. mug — to rob
  14. last — final
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. pitch — completely
  18. capital — a city
  19. mine — for digging
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bass — low music
  24. mine — an explosive

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