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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. file — a tool
  5. object — a thing
  6. rock — music
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. content — the amount
  9. file — a document
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — an aim
  12. file — a line of people
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. content — happy
  15. toast — bread
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rock — a stone
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. capital — a city
  24. stand — to bear

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