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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. object — an aim
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. bass — low music
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. capital — a city
  7. kid — child
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kid — to tease
  15. fall — to drop
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — a thing
  18. bass — the fish
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. capital — money
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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