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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · shower · wake · game · hide · bound · capital · pit

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. wake — a trail
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. pit — a hole
  8. bound — obliged
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pit — in a race
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. game — wild animals
  13. shower — rain
  14. capital — money
  15. game — a match
  16. bound — certain
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. capital — a city
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bound — tied together
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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