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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bound — obliged
  4. face — to point toward
  5. tear — from crying
  6. capital — a city
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. cold — an illness
  9. capital — money
  10. bound — certain
  11. face — part of the head
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. face — to confront
  14. sharp — clever
  15. pitch — completely
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bound — tied together
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. sharp — exactly
  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