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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. tear — to rip
  5. rash — hasty
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. face — to point toward
  8. craft — a skill
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tear — from crying
  11. face — to confront
  12. craft — boats
  13. rash — a series
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wound — an injury
  21. capital — money
  22. dip — to sink
  23. face — part of the head
  24. capital — a city

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