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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. bear — the animal
  5. spring — of water
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. game — a match
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. spring — a coil
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tear — from crying
  14. game — wild animals
  15. tube — a container
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pass — a permit
  20. spring — the season
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bear — the animal
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — clever

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