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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. capital — money
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. rush — hurry
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. fall — the season
  10. toast — bread
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a match
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. fall — to drop
  21. capital — a city
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. tear — from crying
  24. straw — dry grass

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