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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. tear — from crying
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. last — to go on
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. row — to paddle
  8. perch — the fish
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ground — crushed
  12. last — final
  13. capital — money
  14. tear — to rip
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. last — finally
  17. mug — to rob
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. capital — a city
  20. ground — a position
  21. row — a line
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. ground — the earth
  24. mug — a face

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