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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bear — the animal
  4. capital — money
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. pit — in a race
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — a tool
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. tear — to rip
  24. pit — a hole

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