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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  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. hide — to keep secret
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bound — obliged
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bound — certain
  12. bulb — for light
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. deal — to handle
  15. perch — the fish
  16. kid — child
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bulb — for light
  21. kid — to tease
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. bulb — of a plant
  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