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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. spring — of water
  3. capital — money
  4. ground — a position
  5. swing — in golf
  6. tear — to rip
  7. spring — a coil
  8. swing — music
  9. spring — the season
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. club — a group
  12. tear — from crying
  13. ground — the earth
  14. club — for dancing
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. swing — to play on
  18. ground — crushed
  19. mark — a trace
  20. club — for golf
  21. mark — a grade
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — a city
  24. mark — to pay attention

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