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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 120 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. row — a line
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. capital — a city
  11. row — to paddle
  12. sharp — clever
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chest — of your body
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. tear — from crying
  24. chest — a box

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