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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. cap — a lid
  3. file — a line of people
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. cap — a hat
  6. court — for sport
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. tear — from crying
  10. capital — money
  11. cap — of ice
  12. capital — a city
  13. object — to protest
  14. file — a tool
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. tear — to rip
  18. file — a document
  19. object — a thing
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — to recline
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. tear — from crying

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