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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. tear — from crying
  5. kid — child
  6. tear — to rip
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. branch — a division
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. capital — a city
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. lean — to bend
  16. capital — money
  17. shower — rain
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. shower — to wash
  21. kid — to tease
  22. lean — thin
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. pitch — completely

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