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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. net — after costs
  4. content — the amount
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. capital — money
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. court — of a king
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. content — happy
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. capital — a city
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mug — a face
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mug — a cup
  18. court — of law
  19. net — for catching
  20. court — for sport
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fine — all right
  24. net — in sport

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