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

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. tear — from crying
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bound — tied together
  6. tear — to rip
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. cold — an illness
  9. tear — from crying
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. capital — money
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. bound — certain
  15. press — to push
  16. bound — obliged
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. press — newspapers
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cold — not warm
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. press — a publisher
  24. racket — for tennis

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