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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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. game — a kind of play
  4. capital — money
  5. tear — from crying
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. drill — army training
  8. bank — for money
  9. tear — to rip
  10. drill — a practice
  11. game — wild animals
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. craft — boats
  18. game — a match
  19. craft — a skill
  20. capital — a city
  21. drill — the tool
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. bank — for money
  24. bank — of a river

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