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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. wind — moving air
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. capital — a city
  11. tube — the underground
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. capital — money
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. rush — hurry
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wind — moving air
  23. tube — a container
  24. tear — from crying

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