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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. scale — size or range
  3. tear — to rip
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. season — in sport
  9. scale — in music
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. capital — money
  14. tear — from crying
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. capital — a city
  17. chip — to eat
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. chip — for betting
  21. season — of the year
  22. spring — the season
  23. content — happy
  24. racket — for tennis

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