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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. capital — money
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. ball — a dance
  9. tear — from crying
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. cell — in biology
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. mate — a partner
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. mate — to breed
  23. tear — to rip
  24. lie — to recline

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