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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — of ice
  6. rush — hurry
  7. hand — help
  8. stem — to come from
  9. capital — a city
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. game — a match
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. charge — a price
  17. charge — electricity
  18. cap — a hat
  19. charge — in control
  20. tear — to rip
  21. hand — in cards
  22. game — wild animals
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. capital — money

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