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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bear — the animal
  3. capital — money
  4. cell — a phone
  5. swing — to play on
  6. board — a committee
  7. swing — in golf
  8. tear — from crying
  9. board — to get on
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. swing — music
  13. row — a line
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — hurry
  16. row — to paddle
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. capital — a city
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cell — in biology

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