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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. tear — from crying
  3. game — wild animals
  4. rest — a break
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. tear — to rip
  8. game — a match
  9. can — a tin
  10. capital — a city
  11. row — a line
  12. can — a tin
  13. tear — from crying
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. rest — what's left
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. mine — for digging
  23. rest — what's left
  24. capital — money

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