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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 120 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fine — all right
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. capital — a city
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bark — to shout
  14. fine — high quality
  15. vault — a safe
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. capital — money
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. leaves — of a tree

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