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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. tear — from crying
  2. capital — a city
  3. court — of a king
  4. clip — for paper
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cue — a hint
  7. shower — to wash
  8. staff — employees
  9. court — for sport
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. charge — electricity
  12. cue — a signal
  13. capital — money
  14. staff — employees
  15. charge — in control
  16. court — of law
  17. tear — to rip
  18. charge — a price
  19. clip — to cut
  20. shower — rain
  21. staff — a stick
  22. cue — for pool
  23. clip — a video
  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