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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 120 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. object — to protest
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. capital — a city
  5. ground — the earth
  6. object — an aim
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. row — a line
  9. row — to paddle
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. object — a thing
  13. capital — money
  14. root — of a plant
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — crushed
  17. tear — from crying
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. root — the cause
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. root — of a word
  22. tear — from crying
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. tear — to rip

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