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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. last — to go on
  3. root — of a plant
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — to handle
  6. cap — a lid
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. last — finally
  9. cap — of ice
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. root — the cause
  14. clip — for paper
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. root — of a word
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cell — a phone
  21. last — final
  22. tear — to rip
  23. clip — a video
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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