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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cap — a hat
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cap — of ice
  6. perch — the fish
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. kid — to tease
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. kid — child
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — the time now
  14. capital — a city
  15. cell — a phone
  16. capital — money
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. cap — a lid
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. present — there
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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