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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. fine — all right
  3. deal — to handle
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. rock — a stone
  7. tear — from crying
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. chest — a box
  12. squash — the sport
  13. capital — a city
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. tear — from crying
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. rock — music
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. fine — high quality
  21. chest — of your body
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — to crush
  24. chest — of your body

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