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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. present — the time now
  3. tear — to rip
  4. fine — high quality
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. spring — of water
  7. land — ground
  8. scale — in music
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. spring — the season
  12. fine — all right
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. toast — bread
  15. tear — from crying
  16. scale — size or range
  17. land — a country
  18. spring — a coil
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — there
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. land — to come down

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