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

Word bank: pit · current · bay · tear · fan · lean · capital · chest

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pit — in a race
  3. lean — thin
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. pit — a hole
  6. lean — to bend
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. current — electric
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. chest — a box
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. tear — from crying
  19. current — happening now
  20. chest — of your body
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. current — of water
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. tear — to rip

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