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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. capital — a city
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cold — an illness
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. board — to get on
  7. suit — to fit
  8. suit — clothes
  9. cold — not warm
  10. board — a committee
  11. tear — from crying
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. tear — to rip
  17. suit — in cards
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. rock — music
  21. spell — a short time
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. capital — money
  24. rock — a stone

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