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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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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: pass · hand · ground · perch · tear · capital · rash · rest

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hand — help
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — what's left
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. rest — a break
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. capital — a city
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rash — a series
  14. pass — a permit
  15. capital — money
  16. ground — a position
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. ground — crushed
  19. rash — hasty
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. perch — the fish
  22. hand — in cards
  23. ground — the earth
  24. pass — to succeed

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