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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 124 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cap — a lid
  3. roll — a cake
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. lean — to bend
  7. tear — from crying
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. can — a tin
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. spell — a short time
  12. pound — a weight
  13. can — to be able to
  14. can — a tin
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. roll — a list
  17. tear — to rip
  18. spell — letters
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — in cards
  21. lean — thin
  22. cap — a hat
  23. spell — magic
  24. cap — of ice

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