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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. tear — to rip
  5. capital — a city
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. prune — to trim
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. clip — to cut
  13. deal — to handle
  14. capital — money
  15. tear — from crying
  16. prune — to trim
  17. clip — for paper
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. clip — a video
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. deal — an agreement

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