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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. land — ground
  5. last — final
  6. cap — a hat
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cap — a lid
  9. root — of a word
  10. land — a country
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cap — of ice
  13. march — the month
  14. root — of a plant
  15. pit — a hole
  16. tear — from crying
  17. last — finally
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. last — to go on
  23. root — the cause
  24. land — to come down

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