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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mug — to rob
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bear — the animal
  5. capital — a city
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. cell — in biology
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bear — the animal
  10. mug — a face
  11. cell — a phone
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. tear — from crying
  14. hand — help
  15. capital — money
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. mug — a cup
  23. bulb — for light
  24. hand — in cards

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