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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. tear — to rip
  3. ground — a position
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bat — the animal
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. bound — tied together
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. bound — obliged
  12. plane — a tool
  13. mark — a trace
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — money
  16. mark — a grade
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rock — music
  20. rock — a stone
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bound — certain
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. plane — in geometry

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