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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rock — music
  6. fine — all right
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. tear — from crying
  9. capital — money
  10. fall — the season
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. tear — to rip
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. squash — to crush
  17. capital — a city
  18. squash — the sport
  19. fine — high quality
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. pound — a weight
  24. stem — to come from

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