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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. capital — a city
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mug — a face
  5. mug — a cup
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. chair — a leader
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. wake — a trail
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. mug — to rob
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. capital — money
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. tear — to rip
  24. chair — to sit on

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