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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: tear · file · band · chest · capital · squash

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the sport
  4. tear — from crying
  5. band — a music group
  6. capital — money
  7. file — a line of people
  8. tear — from crying
  9. capital — a city
  10. chest — of your body
  11. band — a ring
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. file — a document
  14. chest — a box
  15. tear — to rip
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. file — a tool

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