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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. present — a gift
  3. present — there
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. suit — clothes
  7. row — a line
  8. tear — from crying
  9. capital — money
  10. row — to paddle
  11. present — the time now
  12. suit — to fit
  13. capital — a city
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. degree — from a university
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rush — hurry
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. tear — to rip
  22. degree — an amount
  23. suit — in cards
  24. degree — temperature

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