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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. can — a tin
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. can — a tin
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. track — a song
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. track — to keep track
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. can — to be able to
  17. rush — hurry
  18. cold — not warm
  19. track — a path
  20. cold — an illness
  21. tear — from crying
  22. capital — a city
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wake — a trail

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