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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. capital — money
  3. march — music
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mark — a grade
  7. chip — to eat
  8. tear — from crying
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. chip — for betting
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. mark — a trace
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. hand — help
  16. shower — rain
  17. hand — in cards
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. march — the month
  22. shower — to wash
  23. march — the month
  24. ruler — for measuring

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