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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  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. pit — a fruit stone
  3. root — of a word
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. capital — a city
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. capital — money
  9. game — wild animals
  10. tear — from crying
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. net — after costs
  13. root — the cause
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. current — happening now
  16. root — of a plant
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — in sport
  19. pit — in a race
  20. tear — to rip
  21. game — a match
  22. current — electric
  23. current — of water
  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