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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. content — the amount
  4. root — of a word
  5. tear — to rip
  6. row — a line
  7. root — of a plant
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. capital — money
  10. row — to paddle
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. tear — from crying
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. root — the cause
  19. lie — to recline
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. tear — from crying
  22. content — happy
  23. capital — a city
  24. pitcher — a jug

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