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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. clip — for paper
  7. lie — to recline
  8. capital — money
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. clip — a video
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. wound — an injury
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wound — an injury
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. tear — to rip
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. lie — an untruth
  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