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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. content — happy
  3. club — a group
  4. capital — a city
  5. object — an aim
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. club — for golf
  8. tear — to rip
  9. club — for dancing
  10. capital — money
  11. object — to protest
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. game — a match
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. content — the amount
  20. tear — from crying
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. object — a thing
  23. game — wild animals
  24. fan — to cool the air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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