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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. bat — the animal
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. tear — from crying
  7. capital — money
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. cap — a lid
  11. tear — to rip
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. capital — a city
  16. sharp — clever
  17. cap — of ice
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. cap — a hat
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. perch — the fish
  24. tear — from crying

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