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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.

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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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. jam — a tight spot
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. drill — a practice
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. drill — the tool
  8. tear — from crying
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. chip — for betting
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — a weight
  13. chip — to eat
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. capital — money
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. drill — army training
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. tear — to rip
  24. jam — in traffic

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