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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. firm — decided
  7. last — final
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. firm — steady
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — the arms race
  13. firm — a company
  14. last — to go on
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cap — a hat
  19. last — finally
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. cap — of ice
  22. race — humankind
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — exactly

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