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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 116 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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. root — of a plant
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. cue — a signal
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. tear — from crying
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. root — the cause
  11. drill — a practice
  12. scale — in music
  13. root — of a word
  14. row — to paddle
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. capital — money
  17. cue — for pool
  18. capital — a city
  19. drill — army training
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. scale — size or range
  22. drill — the tool
  23. row — a line
  24. capital — a big letter

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