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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 124 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. content — happy
  4. perch — the fish
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. present — there
  8. date — the fruit
  9. present — the time now
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. capital — money
  12. content — the amount
  13. capital — a city
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. kick — in football
  16. tear — to rip
  17. present — a gift
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. tube — the underground
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — a container
  24. kick — with a leg

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