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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. tear — from crying
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. tear — from crying
  5. present — a gift
  6. capital — money
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. club — for golf
  9. face — to confront
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. tear — to rip
  13. degree — from a university
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. club — for dancing
  17. face — part of the head
  18. present — the time now
  19. capital — a city
  20. club — a group
  21. degree — an amount
  22. sharp — clever
  23. degree — temperature
  24. face — to point toward

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