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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. charge — a price
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. dip — to sink
  5. ground — crushed
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. charge — electricity
  11. hand — in cards
  12. tear — to rip
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. capital — a city
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. capital — money
  18. ground — the earth
  19. rash — hasty
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rash — a series
  23. charge — in control
  24. ground — a position

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