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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: scale · rock · cap · bear · swing · tear · wake · sharp

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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. wake — a trail
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bear — the animal
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. rock — music
  9. tear — to rip
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. swing — music
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a hat
  15. scale — in music
  16. swing — to play on
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — size or range
  19. rock — a stone
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bear — the animal
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. sharp — exactly

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