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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: mate · capital · track · tear · craft · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. tear — from crying
  4. track — a song
  5. tear — to rip
  6. capital — money
  7. track — to keep track
  8. tear — from crying
  9. track — a path
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — a friend
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a skill
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. mate — to breed
  17. capital — a city
  18. cold — an illness

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