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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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. snap — to snap out of it
  4. lean — to bend
  5. capital — a city
  6. staff — employees
  7. snap — to click
  8. tear — to rip
  9. capital — money
  10. lie — to recline
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. staff — a stick
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. drill — army training
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. lean — thin
  20. drill — the tool
  21. tear — from crying
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. staff — employees
  24. drill — a practice

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