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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bat — the animal
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. fall — the season
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. fall — to drop
  15. tear — to rip
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. tear — from crying

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