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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. fork — in a road
  3. swing — to play on
  4. tear — from crying
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. capital — money
  7. tear — to rip
  8. hand — help
  9. swing — music
  10. saw — the tool
  11. swing — in golf
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. tear — from crying
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. chest — a box
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. chest — of your body
  24. saw — the tool

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