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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. capital — money
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. pop — music
  7. craft — a skill
  8. craft — boats
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. hand — help
  12. tear — from crying
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. pop — to visit
  17. tear — to rip
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pop — soda
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. pass — a permit
  22. capital — a city
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. mine — belonging to me

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