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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mark — a trace
  3. season — in sport
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. tear — to rip
  7. season — of the year
  8. capital — a city
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bore — to tire
  11. capital — money
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bore — to drill
  14. game — a match
  15. game — wild animals
  16. row — a line
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. tear — from crying
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. row — to paddle
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. mark — a grade

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