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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. tear — to rip
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. lean — to bend
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. tear — from crying
  11. season — of the year
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. spell — a short time
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. spell — magic
  20. lean — thin
  21. spell — letters
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. season — in sport

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