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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. track — a path
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. track — a song
  6. bark — to shout
  7. last — to go on
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. track — to keep track
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. last — final
  14. fall — the season
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. last — finally
  17. tear — to rip
  18. fall — to drop
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. fall — to drop
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. capital — a city
  24. snap — to click

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