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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. tear — from crying
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. bulb — for light
  5. craft — boats
  6. bulb — for light
  7. roll — a cake
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. capital — money
  10. tear — to rip
  11. capital — a city
  12. rock — music
  13. drill — a practice
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. tear — from crying
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in biology
  20. drill — the tool
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. drill — army training
  23. rock — a stone
  24. craft — a skill

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