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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rest — a break
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. staff — employees
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. tear — from crying
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. capital — a city
  13. band — a music group
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. band — a ring
  17. staff — employees
  18. rest — what's left
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. tear — to rip
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. capital — money
  24. staff — a stick

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