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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. tear — to rip
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. capital — a city
  8. suit — to fit
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. tear — from crying
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. vault — a safe
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. fall — the season
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. suit — clothes
  17. kid — child
  18. capital — money
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. kid — to tease
  23. suit — in cards
  24. patient — a sick person

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