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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. tear — from crying
  6. vault — a safe
  7. capital — money
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. capital — a city
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. shower — rain
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — the tool
  17. tear — to rip
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. drill — army training
  20. row — to paddle
  21. fine — high quality
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. shower — to wash
  24. row — a line

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