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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 116 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bulb — for light
  5. tear — from crying
  6. capital — money
  7. face — part of the head
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bound — obliged
  12. capital — a city
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. last — to go on
  16. kid — child
  17. face — to confront
  18. bound — certain
  19. last — finally
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. last — final
  23. tear — from crying
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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