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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — hurry
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. bat — the animal
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. tear — from crying
  15. capital — a city
  16. toast — bread
  17. mine — for digging
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. tear — from crying
  21. capital — money
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. tear — to rip

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