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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. spell — magic
  8. mark — a trace
  9. spell — letters
  10. tear — to rip
  11. kick — in football
  12. capital — money
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. spell — a short time
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mug — a face
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. capital — a city
  20. mug — a cup
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. mug — to rob
  24. mark — a grade

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