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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: capital · stand · tear · lie · clip · staff

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. 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. capital — money
  3. lie — to recline
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. tear — from crying
  7. capital — a city
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. stand — to bear
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — employees
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. clip — for paper
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. staff — a stick
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. 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