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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. capital — a city
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bat — the animal
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a document
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. rule — a law
  16. capital — money
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bat — for baseball

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