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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. capital — money
  6. rash — hasty
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pop — to visit
  9. rash — a series
  10. pop — soda
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. pop — music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. content — the amount
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. clip — a video
  19. content — happy
  20. capital — a city
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. clip — to cut
  23. foot — a measure
  24. cabinet — ministers

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