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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. tear — from crying
  3. court — of a king
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. capital — money
  7. ground — a position
  8. court — of law
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cap — of ice
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. capital — a city
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. ground — crushed
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cap — a hat
  18. court — for sport
  19. ground — the earth
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. sharp — clever
  22. snap — to click
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. tear — to rip

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