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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rash — hasty
  3. object — a thing
  4. rash — a series
  5. tear — from crying
  6. capital — a city
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. object — to protest
  9. capital — money
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bore — to drill
  13. chest — a box
  14. row — to paddle
  15. object — an aim
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chest — of your body
  18. row — a line
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bore — to tire
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. tear — to rip
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. chip — for betting

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