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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. tear — from crying
  3. drill — army training
  4. mark — a grade
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bound — certain
  7. wind — moving air
  8. capital — a city
  9. deal — to handle
  10. bound — tied together
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mark — a trace
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. capital — money
  17. drill — the tool
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. drill — a practice
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. bound — obliged
  22. stand — to bear
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. wind — to turn a key

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