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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: tear · file · capital · calf · net · club

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  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. capital — money
  2. club — for golf
  3. tear — from crying
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. club — for dancing
  6. file — a line of people
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. file — a tool
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — after costs
  12. tear — from crying
  13. capital — a city
  14. club — a group
  15. file — a document
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  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