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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. craft — a skill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. craft — boats
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. dip — to sink
  8. present — there
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. capital — a city
  11. tear — from crying
  12. capital — money
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. bark — to shout
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. present — a gift
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. tear — to rip
  21. present — the time now
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. tear — from crying

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