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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. capital — a city
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. cue — a hint
  5. clip — a video
  6. drill — army training
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — a practice
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wake — a trail
  16. pit — in a race
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cue — for pool
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. clip — to cut

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