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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 120 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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. hand — in cards
  5. craft — boats
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wound — an injury
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. wound — an injury
  12. craft — a skill
  13. dip — to sink
  14. tear — from crying
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. hand — help
  18. saw — the tool
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. capital — money
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. nail — for a hammer

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